Words: Julia Stitely

While students relaxed during their summer break, dedicated workers made Centennial High School a safer place, installing 30 cameras around the school’s campus. The last security addition was back in 2014 when a couple of cameras were added in the back hallways.

The purchase of the cameras and a new monitor was mainly due to a few cases of vandalism outside of the school. Around the first week of August, Principal Hafets received a call about a car on the turf field.

“Now there was no damage, fortunately, but because of these new cameras,”said Hafets, “we were able to see the car, we were able to get the license plate number, report to the police, and the police were able to charge the two students because they had the license plate number.

Hafets noted that they were not Centennial students.

Cameras weren’t the only addition to the school. Extra locks were installed. Teachers need to swipe their IDs to enter the school.

“They have them in all the elementary schools and they have them in all the middle schools,” Hafets elaborated. “They tend not to have them in too many high schools. I think with our enrollment growing, it was a necessary added  security measure.”

Students using the portables are the most affected by this added security measure. The doors are now on a schedule; they will be open during the five-minute breaks in between class and will lock once the bell rings. In the portable classrooms are extra key swipes in case students need to use the bathroom or enter into the school during the class periods.

Overall, teachers, administrators, parents, and students are happy with the advanced security measures. Michael Guizzotti, school security officer who monitors Centennial throughout the day, sees the great side of the new change. “Always looking for new and better ways to keep the students safe.”

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