ROANE COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS) — Roane County’s school superintendent said all five of the county's schools will start the year Wednesday with a safe and secure main entrance.

Spencer Middle School, Spencer Elementary, Geary Elementary Middle School, Walton Elementary Middle School and Roane County High School now all have secure main entrances, Superintendent Richard Duncan said in a news release.

At each school, while students and staff can enter and depart through their traditional entrances each morning and afternoon, all visitors must enter through a secured entryway during the school day. The secured entryways include electronic door access control and penetration resistant doors, windows and walls that prevent access to the school at large and instead keep visitors in a waiting area until permitted access to other areas of the school.

“The safety and security of our students and staff has been a priority for Roane County as we made improvements to our facilities over the past four years, and opening this fall with 100% of schools protected by a secured entryway brings that priority to reality,” Duncan said.

The completion of a new secure entrance to Spencer Middle School on Tuesday marked the final project on the new entrances. Construction on the entrances in the county's schools began in 2020.

Duncan said the projects were 100% locally funded from a 2018 school bond levy election.