As a part of the MISD bond program for safety, crash bars will be installed on Legacy’s exterior doors this year. Crash bars are an alarm system that notifies security and the office if somebody opens a door when they aren’t supposed to.

“I’m grateful that we’re getting the crash bars,” Principal Stephanie Bonneau said. “Because we have a lot of drivers, we have people coming in and out of the building, and we’re trying to funnel them through the front entrance and back near the cafeteria. So, I’m looking forward to them installing the bars, and getting the extra alert there.”

The system will work similarly to those at movie theaters. When a student or staff member pushes open a door armed with a crash bar, an alarm will sound so that the administration can check the cameras and see what’s going on.

“We would be looking at doors that we don’t really use to come in and out of the building,” Dr. Bonneau said. “They’re not the way that teachers come into the building, and they’re not the way that students exit after school. Those are doors that could have bars on them because there’s really no reason during the school day that they should be opened.”

Crash bars will eventually be installed to keep students from going out of doors they aren’t supposed to and to keep them from letting other people inside the school.

“I want students to stop going outdoors,” Dr. Bonneau said. “They’re not supposed to go out, so I hope that stops that behavior. We don’t have a lot of it, but I hope it prevents what little is left.”

“I realize this means we’ll have some false alerts and we’re going to be chasing down some things that are not really issues, but we’ll be able to work those things out once they get here,” Dr. Bonneau said.

With the alarms, students propping and going in and out of doors during the school day can be better pinpointed and held accountable. Officer John Godwin said he appreciates the advantages of having a bar system.

“With that system being implemented, it’s going to let us know when stuff is happening, which brings more attention for us to be more diligent so those kids can be handled because there is discipline that will be enforced and used,” Officer Godwin said. “We can’t be everywhere all the time, so any extra, added measures of security, I’m all about.”

The system will cut down the response time when administrators receive a notification about a threat, and therefore it will help staff and officers reach and diffuse the situation faster.

“I’m hoping that students, staff, parents, realize that, hey, there’s another wall in between that might stop the danger from getting to these kids,” Officer Godwin said. “So, I think it’s all around a winner.”

The work of campus officers with the new security detail combine to keep Legacy students and faculty safe.

“I think that all of the safety measures we have on campus work together, so any one piece is not going to do it on its own. They all have to be there,” Dr. Bonneau said. “And the more things that we fold into that, the more secure our campus will be.”