LAKE CITY, SC (WBTW) – Florence School District Three is in the process of building walls in some of its schools as a safety measure to keep out intruders.

District officials told News13 it is in phase one of the process, and construction is ongoing.

Phase one will consist of constructing glass double-doors that lead to both entrances to hallways in the school. The district said it will also install cameras, and a buzz-in system at those doors, and at the front entrance of each school.

Senior Director of Curriculum Instruction and Assessment, Kasey Feagin, said safety is always the district’s top priority.

“Obviously safety is one of our main concerns for going into the new school year, and we want to make sure that all of our children here at the schools are safe, and protected during the school day,” said Feagin.

Feagin said five schools are part of phase one, and those will be upgraded first.

“These are the schools that are most open when you walk into the school buildings,” she explained. “You can have direct access to the children, and the hallways so we want to make sure that is not the case in these schools.”

Phase 1

  • Lake City Early Childhood Center of the Arts
  • J. Paul Truluck Creative Arts and Science Magnet School
  • Dr. Ronald E. McNair School of Digital Communication and Leadership
  • Olanta Creative Arts and Science Magnet School
  • Lake City Early College High School


Phase 2

  • Main Street Elementary School of the Arts
  • Scranton Elementary STEAM Academy
  • J. C. Lynch Elementary School of STEM

“We’ll have controlled access points where someone would press the button,” she explained. “Someone from the office would actually be able to see them, communicate with them, they would state their purpose, and then they would be able to enter into the office.”

However, once the visitor is in the lobby they will still have to be allowed access into the school hallways by the office administrator.

Zyquavius Brown is a senior at Lake City High School, and said he appreciated the district taking the time to create the barriers.

“It’ll keep the bad people from coming into the school trying to harm the kids and stuff,” he said. “I can’t have nobody come into the school and try and harm me, and harm people I care about.”

Brown’s friend, Akia McFadden, agreed and said she felt safer at school when precautions like the safety walls, and cameras are taken by the school district.

“I don’t want anybody to get hurt because, you know, people shoot up schools, and I don’t like when people lose their life for nothing,” said McFadden. “Everybody has a dream.”

Feagin said the district has plans to finish phase one by mid-September. She said it will cost $200,000 to complete phase one.

“There’s so many people out there that’s doing stuff to the kids,” said Brown’s mother, Sally Brown. “I’m glad they’re doing something about it.”

Feagin said phase two will begin once funds become available. The total cost of both phase one and phase two is $350,000.