Deming Public Schools officials on Thursday outlined a multi‑piece plan to strengthen campus safety after recent incidents at Deming High School, saying the district will roll out a state‑funded panic‑notification app and pursue weapons‑detection equipment trials while consulting legal counsel on search and screening rules.

Superintendent Goldman told the school board the district is already working with the state to implement the Rave panic button app, which officials said is provided free to New Mexico schools and connects campus alerts with local law enforcement dispatch. “We should be able to go live no later than the start of next school year,” Goldman said, describing a timeline tied to state training for campus staff.

District safety and operations staff described two kinds of weapons‑detection systems under consideration. Members of the district security team said they attended an SRO conference where they saw two commercial solutions: Evolve, a larger leased system that officials called bulky and expensive, and OpenGate (CEIA), a portable pedestal system they described as light, phone‑configurable and a one‑time purchase. “OpenGate is, for our money and what we want to use it for, the better system to have,” said one staff member who described the product demo.

Staff also briefed the board on the possible use of drug‑ and weapons‑detection canines and on handheld wand searches. Legal and policy constraints were a recurring theme: administrators cautioned that routine or truly random searches invite higher legal risk and that any screening program must be uniform to avoid claims of discrimination. The district pointed to its current student‑search policy (policy JIH) and a draft addendum other districts have used that requires universal screening if large‑scale equipment is deployed.

Board members generally supported moving quickly on the panic app and pursuing portable scanners demos, while expressing reservations about random arrival or classroom searches. Several board members said they favored measures that deter threats and are operationally feasible; one said an array of tools would be preferable to relying on any single technology.

District staff said next steps will include: obtaining quotes and demos for weapons‑detection vendors (OpenGate and others), working with legal counsel on a search‑policy addendum that would govern universal screenings and exploring whether the canine regulation in current district rules could be adapted more quickly. Staff did not request a formal policy vote on Thursday and said any policy changes would return to the board for formal action.

The discussion followed a recent incident at the high school that officials described as “unnerving” and which they said prompted review of the district’s safety posture and response coordination with local law enforcement.