RRISD expands visitor check-in system

ROUND ROCK (KXAN) - With school safety a hot topic around the country, Round Rock Independent School District will spend more than a million dollars expanding their visitor check-in system.

The system is already in place at several campuses that were built after a 2006 bond item.

“It has been a wonderful thing to have,” said district spokesperson JoyLynn Occhiuzzi. “It forces a visitor to go through the office and you do not have as many wandering through the hall.”

The setup allows visitors to enter the school lobby through a first set of doors that are unlocked. From there, a receptionist registers them into an identification database which also does a quick background check.

If everything checks out okay, the receptionist grants entry through a second set of doors that normally remain locked during school hours and lead to the school hallways.

The school board approved $910,000 in unused bond money to pay for the construction needed to implement the system at 23 campuses that do not currently have it in place.

However, Occhiuzzi said the district would likely ask for more money to complete construction by the opening of the 2013-2014 school year.