At the Oct. 13 Piper School District Board of Education meeting, community member Mike Eckel urged trustees to find a solution to what he described as a security gap that allows approved visitors or students already inside school buildings to conceal weapons and bring them onto campus.

"The current ability for a student or an approved visitor ... to sneak in or conceal a weapon or a gun and come into the school during school hours is a big problem," Mike Eckel said during public comment. He said the districts security guards and SROs are "fantastic," but that the inability to screen people already permitted inside the building poses a risk.

Eckel told the board he dislikes the idea of subjecting students to advanced screening such as X-ray machines or metal detectors but said those measures are used at government buildings and stadiums and suggested the district consider similar protections.

The board did not take formal action on Eckels request during the meeting; the public-comment segment concluded after his remarks. The superintendents report and staff presentations that followed referenced safety and security as an ongoing priority, including continued funding requests and measures to support school safety in the districts legislative priorities.

The speaker said his concern is not about an external intruder but about people already allowed into school buildings and urged the board to "come together to find a solution to this problem."