Education minister, board claim Ontario schools safe
Days after a mass shooting left 20 elementary school students dead in Newtown, Conn., Ontario's education minister claimed the province's schools are equipped to keep intruders out.
"All entrances to Ontario schools are kept locked during the school day to prevent entry of anyone who does not have authorization to enter the school," Education Minister Laurel Broten told CBC News.
However, CBC News was able to easily walk into four schools Monday in Windsor, Ont.
Only at Immaculate Conception was CBC News met by a teacher at the door.
The doors weren't locked or manned at Queen Victoria Public School, Catholic Central High School or Kennedy Collegiate Institute.
Some parents were concerned by the ease of entry.
"I have a daughter who goes here and for someone to be able to walk in that really bothers me," said Danielle Hasler, whose daughter attends Queen Victoria. "It’d be nice if it was a little more secure and got on top of things like that."
Jason Jost called the the entrance at Queen Victoria "a fluke."
"My son's been coming to the school for two years and you won't get into any other entrances in the school. They're all locked except at the front," he said. "Most times, they'll see you coming in and they'll stop you and ask you who you are."
Several high school students CBC News spoke with had little or no concerns at all about the accessibility of their school.
The Windsor Essex Catholic Board didn't immediately return calls placed by CBC News.
The director of education for the Greater Essex School Board said he's concerned the doors were unlocked at Queen Victoria and Kennedy, but was surprised to hear the minister's claim.
"Not all of our schools are completely locked. I think that maybe what she was trying to say, and I don't want to put words in the minister's mouth, is, maybe, we need to get to that point, where all of the schools have locks on them and have to be accessed with a push button," Warren Kennedy said.
Kennedy said all the board's schools are safe.
High schools have video cameras. The board has a tragic events response team and conducts emergency drills.
Just last year, the school board, in conjunction with the region's first responders, simulated a school shooting. The drill took place on a Saturday.
Broten said Ontario teachers have had “training to handle violence in schools" and that schools have two lockdown drills each year.
"I think we do a lot of work to ensure their kids are safe," Kennedy said. "Is it perfect? No, it's never perfect. But one of our strategic goals is to have a safe learning environment."
Police and school officials in Newtown, Conn., say the gunman who killed 26 people, including 20 children, forced his way into Sandy Brook Elementary, which was equipped with a buzz-in security system at the front door.
