Whiteaker Middle School recently became the eighth middle school in the district to install weapons detectors.
The Salem-Keizer School District announced last fall that middle schools would be installing the systems, after spending $1.5 million to install detection systems in high schools last year.
This year, the district is spending $1.2 million to install the systems in 12 middle schools. Aaron Harada, district communications director, said funding comes from a 2018 bond measure and a vape settlement fund.
Chris Baldridge, district safety director, said a weapons detection system will be installed at Claggett Creek Middle School in March.
“This is just an added layer of protection for our staff and students,” said Suzanne Leonard, Whiteaker principal.
The installation of weapons detectors is part of the school district’s broader efforts to improve school safety protocols. Baldridge said the updates started three years ago was in response to rising violence and firearm use in the community.
“We were watching as the age of the person being involved in those types of activities was actually starting to decline, right? They’re starting to get younger and younger,” Baldridge said.
He added that such circumstances prompted discussions between schools, local governments and law enforcement to ensure safety in schools.
Baldridge said the district is not considering installing the systems in elementary schools because data don’t indicate a need and the differences in how elementary and secondary schools operate.
Other safety changes at Whiteaker and other schools include restricting access points into the building, using digital security systems and window coverings that allow students to see outside but prevent people from seeing in.
Leonard said that the updated protocols, such as requiring students to enter through the front door each day, have helped prepare for the weapons detection systems.
“The entry process won’t change,” Leonard said.
While detection systems in the high schools require students to run backpacks through machines, Baldridge said students will keep belongings on them while walking through the middle school systems. The difference in systems was an effort to reduce costs, he said.
The systems will flag unauthorized items such as firearms, knives and vapes. Baldridge encouraged students to remove unnecessary metal items from backpacks, noting that large three-ring binders can set off alarms.
Students will need to hand Chromebooks to staff while walking through.
Baldridge said the district has not received much community feedback after installing the systems in high schools last year.
“If I were to generalize the feeling around these systems, (it’s) that, ‘should they be there? No. Should we have to do this in our schools? No. But we get it, so let’s get it done’,” Baldridge said. “And that’s kind of where we’re at.”
NEWS TIP? Contact reporter Krista Kroiss at [email protected].
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