SALISBURY, Md. — School safety was a topic of conversation at a recent Board of Education meeting after a Parkside High School student was caught with a loaded handgun in his backpack earlier this school year.
No one was injured in the incident, but the discovery has renewed conversations about how to keep students and staff safe.
At the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, September 9th, Superintendent Micah Stauffer said the district has increased the number of school resource officers this year and is looking to purchase more weapons detection systems.
"Moving forward I want to be very clear that we have every intention of still going down the path that we’ve been going down, which is to add additional safety features for all of our schools," Stauffer said. "This most recent incident will serve to only expedite those efforts."
The district currently has 11 weapons detection systems, though Stauffer noted that number is not enough for daily use across all schools. Officials plan to acquire more.
In recent years, Wicomico schools have also added upgraded cameras, secure entry systems and additional school resource officers.
The district currently has 12 SRO's, a slight increase from the previous year, where WCPS had 10 SRO's employed. A district spokesperson also tells us they have budgeted for an additional three SRO's positions. Local law enforcement agencies are working to fill those spots.
SROs are assigned to each middle and high schools(10), and each of those SROs also serve some elementary schools, according to WCPS. Two additional SROs also rotate around our elementary schools on a daily basis.
Parents say the continued focus on safety is critical.
"I fear for my wife, my wife’s in the school system, I got a son in school, so I don’t like that at all," said parent Robert Handy of the Parkside incident. He added that he would like to see metal detectors installed at school entrances.
"Immediately, I mean they need it," said Handy.
The Board of Education has scheduled a work session later this month to discuss a rollout plan for weapons detection systems and other security measures.