Submitted Photo This sign would be posted at Minot elementary schools under a draft policy being considered by the Minot Public School Board when it meets at 4 p.m. today.

The Minot Public School Board will discuss a draft policy regarding elementary safety procedures when it meets today at 4 p.m. in the board room of the school district administration building.

Parent Tori Brown had circulated an online petition in August asking for a change.

“During the 2016-2017 school year, I went to check my kindergartener out of school,” wrote Brown on the petition, which was signed by 975 people. “When I arrived, they buzzed me right into the locked door at the school, asked me my child’s name and teacher’s name. That was it. They didn’t ask me for any identification, they didn’t ask me my relationship to the child, nothing. This was alarming to me as I could have been just anyone. There’s no way they knew me, or my child as this was her first year attending school. I asked the secretary why they didn’t ask any questions – because when I attended school many years ago in Florida, my parents needed a form of ID, a password, and their name had to be on an index card that was provided to the school at the beginning of the school year and no one else that wasn’t on that list could check out the child. After we left the school, I called the school board and I spoke with the Assistant Superintendent. We spoke for a bit and she told me she would research what other cities/counties do as their check out routine. A month later, I checked my child out of school again, and once again, I wasn’t asked anything but my child’s name and teacher. I called the Assistant Superintendent again and was a little aggravated this time. She assured me again, she would look into it. Nothing changed.

“Now as the 2017-2018 school year starts, I decided to call again to check for an update. She told me at this time “we think our security in our schools are good enough”. I asked what security they had in place and her response was “locked doors and cameras”. I explained that they typically buzz anyone through those doors and criminals don’t care if they’re on camera. Once that child is in the office with them, they could scoop them up, run out the door, into their car and make it halfway down the highway before police are even on the way. Then what? Her response was, “we would try to find the child”. But by then it could be TOO LATE. It doesn’t take long for a criminal to do the unthinkable with a child. Why doesn’t MPS want to protect our children? Why can’t they set a small 1-2 minute procedure in place? Why will it take a child being abducted for them to change this? Help me keep our children safe by signing this petition and get MPS to realize that these things DO happen and CAN happen in Minot.”

Under the proposed draft policy, a sign will be posted advising visitors that “student safety is our No. 1 priority” and asking them to be prepared to show ID when they visit schools.

According to the draft policy, doors at elementaries in the district are locked during the school day. Visitors press a buzzer and have to be buzzed into school offices at a front door by personnel. All of the schools have cameras and motion detectors in effect. Parents fill out information cards and forms when they enroll their children that includes a list of emergency contacts and people who are permitted to pick up a child from school. If someone comes to the school to pick up a child and is not on the parents’ list of people approved to pick up a child, school personnel will be directed to call the parent to verify the information. Parents will also be required to sign their children in and out of the building if they pick them up during the school day.

Elementary assistant superintendent Tracey Lawson said Wednesday the policies are already in place. Visitors will be asked to show ID if the school personnel do not know who they are.

The policy was drafted by a committee that has been meeting this fall, Supt. Mark Vollmer said earlier this fall. Administrators also talked with Brown, he said.

The school board is also slated to discuss the 2017-2018 budget when it meets today.

All school board meetings are open to the public.