TDSB schools open with security upgrades

Parents may notice enhanced security this morning as they drop off their children at elementary schools in the Toronto District School Board.

A total of 150 TDSB schools have had new door buzzers and security cameras installed.

The money comes from a $10 million commitment by the province following the shooting of 20 school children and six educators in Newtown, Conn., last year.

At the front doors of Cresthaven Public School — near Leslie Street and Finch Avenue East — a sign taped to the wall now reads "please press the buzzer."

Cresthaven is one of the final TDSB elementary schools to get the security upgrades.

Most TDSB elementary schools already have buzzers, which the board began installing eight years ago.

The buzzer and camera will help screen people when doors are locked after class begins.

Heather Prinsloo, whose three-year-old son starts junior kindergarten today, is glad to see the security enhancements.

"I kinda feel there's a peace of mind there, knowing that my kids are safe," she told CBC News.

TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird said the board received $465,000 from the province to install the cameras and buzzers over the summer.

"The front door will be the only point of access," he said.

Former Premier Dalton McGuinty announced money for the upgrades in December.

"There is a reasonable expectation on the part of parents that when their kids go to school, we will have a locked door policy in place," he said.