How safe is security in the area's schools?

After getting consent from three seperate students' parents, NEWS9 went undercover to put the schools to the test to see who is obeying the rules.

We asked to get a child out early for the school day at Weirton Heights Elementary in Weirton, W. Va., as well as Lincoln Elementary and Mckinley Elementary, both of which are Steubenville City Schools in Ohio.

Each time, a News9 representative stated that the mother, for one reason or another, was not able to pick up the child up and had asked the representative to do so instead.

After attempts at Weirton Heights and Lincoln Elementary, the secretaries for each respective school would not grant permission to the child until they heard from the mother themselves, via phone or in person.

At Mckinley Elementary, when a child was requested, the acting secretary's first step was to call for the child to come down. But because of the fact that we did not want to get the children involved, she stopped her by asking her not to have the child come to the office.

She said that she would not have allowed the child to leave the school because her next step was to call the child's mother, but by that time, the child was already in the office and within the reach of the undercover reporter.

Now NEWS9 got in contact with the superintendent of Steubenville City Schools, and he said while the principal at Mckinley Elementary said he would not have allowed anyone to walk out with that student, he said the report does bring to light the need to review with his staff what the school's policy is and which order the steps should be followed.