BLOOMINGDALE — Some extra safety measures are being taken at the Jefferson County Joint Vocational School with the addition of a new identification system for visitors.

The school recently added the Raptor Visitor Management System to its vestibule, which is used to scan driver’s licenses and other government ID prior to admitting visitors into the building. Principal Andy Long said the mechanism was acquired through the Ohio Attorney General’s School Safety Grant program and implemented in November.

“(District Technology Coordinator Ron Peach) acquired it through a school safety grant which we received for $2,500. It’s a way to digitally verify visitors in the building,” Long explained. “You scan a driver’s license or state ID and it can run a background check against registered sexual offender lists. If there is a custodial rights issue, it will notify us.”

He continued that the system prints a pass with the visitor’s name, photo, a timestamp of when they signed in and their location, and it brings another level of security to the building for students and staff.

“We have a higher degree of confidence of who is in the school and student safety,” Long said. “It’s just another layer to uphold student safety and I appreciate Mr. Peach for getting that grant.”

Peach said he applied for the funding last spring and the JVS joined other area schools which have implemented related measures.

“It lets everybody know at a glance where the visitor is supposed to be,” he said. “It’s just another form of security we have in place and other schools in the area have similar systems. We thought it would be good to put it in place here.”

Meanwhile, JVS Adult Education Director and Grant Writer Jim Hilton obtained a $34,352 grant through the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and Long said a portion of those funds will be used to add security bollards to protect the building.

“Hilton got a school safety grant through the OBWC and half of the funds will go for steel pillars at the entrances,” he said, adding that the bollards should arrive by February but will be installed at a later point in time.

Long noted that the remaining funds are eyed for other potential safety-related plans which are still being determined.