Due to various safety concerns, including students skipping school and property restrictions, a new gate was installed in the student parking lot this past November.

A staff member or security guard is present at the gate at all times to allow people in and out, and the gate opens every 30 minutes to permit authorized students to leave school property. Additionally, students who are late to school, now have to wait half an hour before they are allowed in.

According to part-time school security monitor and lead custodian Stephane Lindor, one of the reasons the gate was installed was to deter students from skipping school. He said that so far the gate has proven to be a success, leading to a greater number of people following the protocols.

“The gate is for safety reasons,” Lindor said. “If something were to occur on the outside they wouldn’t come in and couldn’t break into the cars.”

Another reason for the addition was that iPrep guests were parking in Krop’s student parking and it was causing issues. According to Assistant Principal Alicia Brown, administration wanted to be confident that people could differentiate between Krop’s and iPrep’s property. Also, it gives the school more of a border for protection in terms of being capable of sealing off the property. Individuals were parking on the campus in the student parking lot on the weekends and because they were going to the park.

“I really do not like the new gate,” junior Ariana Geller said. “It affects me significantly because if I’m late to school I have to park all the way in the front and the last time I did that, security didn’t let me park there, and I couldn’t get to my parking spot and ended up having to park elsewhere, which caused me to be even later to school.”

Lindor said that so far it has proven to be a success, leading to a greater number of people following the rules and protocols. 

The gate is open for Krop student and parent drop-offs and closes every night around 8 p.m.