SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. – Greenacres Middle School introduced a new safe school entrance on Thursday night, offering a heightened sense of security for families and students.
The new entrance is part of a district-wide initiative to enhance school safety, made possible by community support and a $47 million capital levy approved by voters last year. Greenacres is one of five schools that received a safety vestibule this summer.
“Being able to really secure the entrance gives parents, I think, a lot of peace of mind with their kids coming to school, and the control over who’s coming in and out I think is huge,” Matthew Matta, a parent, said.
District leaders completed the project years ahead of schedule using a financing strategy that saved taxpayer money.
“So what we did is we decided to do a limited general obligation bond where we had our school board vote to pass a resolution, and that would front load the money. And what that does is it takes the six years of money and puts it all up front so you can get the projects done and save taxpayers money because of the rising costs,” Superintendent John Parker explained.
The new vestibules direct visitors to check in at the office upon entering the building, creating a safer environment.
“Now, anybody that attempts to enter the building, they are funneled directly to our main office to where we can greet them. So it gives us the opportunity to, number one, show a smiling face and see what parents need, but really diverts them to where we can serve our community as best as we can,” Principal Quinn Lesage of Greenacres Middle School stated.
The design aims to provide a welcoming atmosphere while enhancing security, and parents like Matta agree.
“This should really be kind of the standard of how schools are built. And every new school that’s built should have this as really just an automatic thing that needs to happen,” he said. “And older schools, if some of the funding is directed to implement these safety measures, then those, I think, is of paramount importance.”
