FAIRMONT — Fairmont Elementary School recently began using a new system to get children through the lunch line in less time and with more security.

The biometric finger ID system does not record children’s fingerprints, but scans certain points of their index finger. The data is then translated into an alphanumeric code that cannot be reversed back or traced.

“We were looking at something like this a few years ago but there are companies [that] do store fingerprints, and our school board immediately shot that down,” said Superintendent Joe Brown. “Then we came across this Minnesota-based company that does not store prints.”

There are many school districts in Minnesota that have been using this same system for years. Brown said more than 2,000 schools — elementary, high schools and colleges — across the country use the system.

“No fingerprint is stored, no measurements are stored,” Brown said. “It simply reads certain points of your index finger.”

The code that the print translates into is long and cannot be reversed back, and it is only stored on the school’s local file server.

Three biometric readers and the software cost $3,727. Two readers are in the 3-6 cafeteria, where there are two lunch lines, while one reader is in the K-2 cafeteria. The elementary school also got a tardy kiosk for $1,242. It will be used when students get to school late or come in after a doctor’s appointment. Brown said this will print out an admit slip and then record on Skyward, which is the student manuscript system.

All students in grades K-6, as well as teachers and staff, will use this new system. In the past, grades 3-6 would enter a four-digit code every time they went through the lunch line. The K-2 students have a food service person look at them and then circle their name and bar code on a piece of paper. They go back later and scan each bar code into the system to record who was there and ate lunch that day.

“The reason we’re doing it is really two-fold,” Brown said. “One reason is to speed up the lunch line because we want the students to have adequate time to eat and also go out and have recess. The second reason is for security so no one else can look at and see another students four-digit code. This is another level of safety for the kids because no one else can use another student’s finger.”

All of the kindergarteners and first-graders are using the new system as well as some of the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders. Mary Cole, who is the MARSS and testing coordinator in the district office at the elementary school, has been setting up each student and staff member individually.

Several food service workers commented on how the new system has proven to speed up the lunch line.

At Fairmont Jr./Sr. High School, students just scan their student ID badge, which has a barcode. While the elementary school students have an ID badge, they do not have a barcode on it. Brown reported the plan is to eventually use the finger ID system at the high school as well.

One complaint some people have had is attaching a number or code to a student. But as Brown said, numbers have been attached to students for decades.

Every public school student in the state of Minnesota is given a MARSS (Minnesota Automated Reporting Student System) number, which will follow them throughout their school years, from preschool through senior year of high school. It is the Minnesota Department of Education’s primary reporting system for student data. Because public schools receive 85 percent of their funding from the state, the 13-digit number is given to ensure that students do not get double-counted.

“We’re basically doing this to speed up the lunch line and have a more secure system,” Brown said. “However, if there is any concern about this, parents can simply contact our office and we can opt their child out. So far, we’ve had five students out of about 400 who have opted out and that’s fine. Parents always have a choice. Those students will just need to memorize their four-digit code.”

Anyone who wants more information on this system can visit the company’s website at www.fingerid.net