Visitors will now be required to enter the school through a new doorway installed over the summer. To the right of main entrance, the new entryway aims to increase student safety, according to Andrew Kilstrom, district director of communications.

“Staff noted that, with the orientation of the previous school entryway, it was fairly easy for anyone to enter the front doors of the school during the school day, bypassing the office and sight lines of staff,” Kilstrom wrote in an email to The Amplifier.

The main doors are still available except during school hours, when they lock, so visitors must pass through the new doorway and the office.

The district Operations Department designed the entryway. Construction began in mid-July, and it was completed Aug. 24, according to Allen Frack, contractor from Cedar Mill Construction.

The contract price for the doorway was $148,000, which was approved during a school board meeting on June 11. This money comes from $500,000 designated for safety and security from the district’s 2014 Capital Bond.

“The idea was the result of staff discussion and review of safety and security, but we also heard concern from parents and students during the school year,” Kilstrom wrote. “Secure entryways were a common topic, which spurred staff to design the new entryway.”

The two separate buildings on campus, the Performing Arts Center and the 700 Building, are being considered for further security updates, according to Kilstrom.