In past years, when driving into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s entrance, it was easy to access the front parking lot, and a struggle to get through the front office. Currently, MSD purchased a security booth with the allocated security funds to be placed at the entrance of the front lot in order for security to identify and check every person in a car who comes on to campus. It is an air-conditioned, small, vertical box that is occupied daily.

Jeremy Johnson, one of the personnel of MSD’s security team, is assigned to the security booth every school day from 8 a.m. to 2:38 p.m. The booth came from the donations after Feb. 14th to the safety funds for items that will bring school safety.

When someone attempts to drive onto campus, Johnson has a manual sheet with emergency contact lists for every student. The security team has sent a request for wireless internet in the outside location of the booth to “downtown,” or the Broward County school board, and are waiting for it to be approved to allow a laptop or similar device to make the job easier to identify people.

“It’s a great asset. It takes the security personnel and allows them to be able to do their job despite weather situations such as rain; it’s definitely a positive thing,” security personnel Tracey Courtney Middleton said.

In order for a car to be allowed into the parking lot during the school day, it is necessary for them to be on an MSD student’s emergency contact list. This is a very specific list and is only edited by the immediate family of each student. The security booth adds an extra security measure for entering into the school, further emphasizing MSD’s change of school safety.