Safer visitor system to be installed in Whitehall

Whitehall’s school board approved the implementation of a new visitor system last Wednesday that intends to increase school safety. They will be the first school in the area to implement the system, according to superintendent Mike Beighley. 

The system is called Raptor Visitor Management, and requires all visitors to show identification at the door. Their government issued identification — or their name and birth date — will be reviewed on a national system that checks for sex offenders and other unsafe visitors. If a visitor passes the screening, the system will print out a sticker badge for them. 

The system can also be used to put alerts on specific individuals. For instance, if there is a custody dispute in which one parent is not allowed to see the child, a localized alert can be placed on the system for that person. 

Raptor Management will also keep a record of when people come and go. 

As of April 1, all visitors will be required to show identification upon entry to Whitehall schools. 

“We get more and more folks as people move in and out that we don’t know right away… so this will just give us more real time information,” said Beighley. 

“I’ve lived in Whitehall my entire life and there are still people I don’t know,” said board member Julie Dokkestul. 

The whole system cost approximately $1,700 for a one-time fee. 

In other matters, the board approved the transfer of high school math teacher Alex Eid to the mobile skills lab teacher for the 2020-21 school year. He will undergo intensive training over the summer to prepare him for teaching in that role. They also approved the contract for kindergarten teacher of Lucas Eide.