GISD to soon release survey on metal detectors

Greenville ISD plans to soon release a survey to parents and staff about the possible implementation of metal detectors at the high school.

The topic was discussed at the last two school board meetings, which gave rise to questions about how metal detectors could be used effectively.

When GISD Chief of Police Ramon Rodriguez initially presented the potential use of metal detectors at the July 18 meeting, he spoke of implementing them on all nine of the district’s campuses.

However, as members of the school board continued to discuss the possibility at the July meeting, more than one of them brought up the multiple portable buildings at Greenville Middle School and how impractical and/or ineffective metal detectors could be on that campus.

Some then pointed out that the elementary schools are mostly single, self-contained buildings and therefore metal detectors may not be necessary in their cases, so the discussion quickly focused on how implementing metal detectors could look at just the high school.

GISD Superintendent Sharon Boothe then said procedures would need to be put in place and staff would need to be trained on how to use the detectors and control student traffic through those points, which led to concerns about excessively delaying students when entering or re-entering the building.

On Aug. 15, when the topic was revisited, Rodriguez explained that in order to have four metal detector stations set up at the high school, a total of 12 staff members (nine of whom would have to be hired) would be needed to have each station manned at all times.

At that meeting, It was also discussed that remaining federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds (which are essentially “COVID relief” dollars, and are scheduled to expire in September 2024) could possibly be used to hire the additional staff, since the metal detectors and the additional staff were not included in this year’s adopted budget.

The trustees still expressed contrasting opinions on the effectiveness of metal detectors.

Roger Livingston said the school could “never have too much safety,” especially in view of the fact the district did away with the clear backpack requirement.

Meanwhile, Anji Taylor felt like metal detectors “can create a false sense of security,” especially since they would only be set up at the main high school building, leaving T.A. Cotton Ford Stadium and other extensions vulnerable.

In addition to continued discussion about the possible use of metal detectors at the high school, the board heard updates on security in the district in general and approved the purchase of nearly $155,000 of new security cameras.

Included in the update was the current status on the hiring of police officers for the district. Currently, there are six officers actively serving the district while two more are still in training and the district is still seeking one more so they can have one officer for each campus.

“It’s a battle trying to recruit new officers because the demand is so high,” Rodriguez said. “But we don’t believe in settling.”

Rodriguez also stressed how much he works to keep the rest of the officers in the department engaged and involved while on the job.

“I constantly preach that I don’t want them sitting in their offices,” Rodriguez said. “Currently, they’re each pretty consistently walking 10-plus miles per day.

“We’re gonna need to order new uniforms before too long, because we’re all losing weight,” he added with a laugh.

The district plans to have the survey on metal detectors ready early this week.

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