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Hall Co. schools beef up security

HALL COUNTY, Ga. — Deputies greeted students at all Hall County Schools on Wednesday.

Jan. 2 marked the first day back for students since the school massacre in Newtown, Conn.

Last month, a gunman stormed into Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 20 children and six adults.

In an effort to ease students' minds, the Hall County schools superintendent worked with the county sheriff to assign 33 deputies to the district’s 33 schools for the first day back.

"We knew that this would be a nervous day for parents when they brought their children back to school. We have been working behind the scenes ever since that terrible Friday that Newtown happened just to ensure we had everything in place," said Hall County Superintendent William Schofield.

The district traditionally has resource officers in its high schools and middle schools but not in elementary schools.

Byfield asked Schofield how long there will be increased security at the county's elementary schools.

"We haven't determined that yet. The sheriff and I are in constant communication," he said.

Schofield said during the holiday break, he asked his staff to review and access all of its security plans.  He also mentioned the district's maintenance staff checked all of the locks on the buildings to ensure they work.

Schofield said safety is a priority and all school doors, except the main entrance, will be locked as soon as school starts.