WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. -- County leaders are moving forward with a new layer of school security, with weapons detection systems potentially coming to high schools by January of 2027.
Brief Budget Breakdown:
County Executive Julie Giordano has proposed a $237.5 million budget for FY27. The final amount represents an increase of $21,271,798, or 9.8%, from the adopted FY26 budget.
One big ticket item included in this years budget is funding for the Wicomico County Board of Education. As proposed, the Board of Education budget would increase from $55,807,903 to $58,206,080, an overall increase of $2,398,177.
The budget fully funds MOE(maintenance of effort), along with $2.4 million of funding Wicomico County will need to pay to the State of Maryland for teacher's pensions and roughly $470,000 for private pre-K programs.
The Board of Education budget for FY27 also includes funding for the implementation of weapons detection systems, and that is what brings us to the focus of this article.
Wicomico County school leaders have been talking about weapons detection systems for years, but the effort really picked up steam over the past few months.
If the proposed funding amount holds true, the county will start with six buildings. That includes James M. Bennett High School, Parkside High School, Wicomico High School, and Mardela High School, as well as Evening High School and Choices Academy.
In total, the project is expected to cost about $1.3 million. That includes a one-time cost of $450,000 to purchase the equipment and a recurring annual cost of $887,000 for additional staff needed to operate the systems.
School officials say the move is part of a broader effort to strengthen safety measures.
"Weapons detection is just the next piece of that evolution to enhancing and strengthing those layers,” said Tara O’Barsky, Director of School Climate and Safety.
County leaders say the phased rollout is intentional, mainly due to the fact that funding the entire project all at once would be too expensive.
"We felt that high schools were probably the most important at this point in time, not that other things can’t happen in other buildings," Giordano said.
The plan follows a tiered approach. The first phase focuses on high schools, while the second would expand to middle and elementary schools. A final phase would include all schools, programs, and administrative offices. Officials say the goal is to complete the full rollout within the next two to three years.
Still, not everyone is convinced the systems are the right solution.
"I feel like it would cause a lot of undue stress for the students," said parent Kristen Fosque.
Another parent, Shakerah Tilghman, questioned how students would perceive the added security.
"Are they really going to get any justice from seeing this in the building or are they just going to feel like a criminal going through school every day?" Tilghman said.
Despite those concerns, district officials continue to emphasize the need to improve school safety.
"From the physical standpoint, it's a visible deterrent, right, from people bringing in things they shouldn't have in school," said O'Barsky. "But the phycological safety layer is really about that sense of confidence in the security for all of our stakeholders, whether they be students, staff or parents."
The proposed budget — including funding for the detection systems — still requires final approval from the County Council, though council leadership has indicated support for the plan.
