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Watertown schools report faster screening, new radio system after OpenGate rollout; staff, parents seek tweaks
Summary
The district’s new OpenGate weapons-detection gates and a digital radio rollout reduced screening time at high-traffic entrances and added lockdown and 911 features — but parents and staff asked for procedural tweaks and clearer arrival plans for high school and middle school students.
The Watertown City School District said its newly installed OpenGate weapons-detection gates and a new digital radio system are operating and producing measurable improvements, though administrators and parents said the systems still need tuning to reduce arrival delays and clarify procedures for students who leave campus during the day.
Jeff (last name not provided), the district’s director of IT and cybersecurity, told the board that OpenGate units were installed at the high school’s South Lot entrance, at the high school auditorium entrance, and at Case Middle School’s lobby. He said screening times have dropped since the first day of school: the high school, with about 1,100 students, initially took about an hour to process arrivals but moved to roughly 30 minutes after routine adjustments; the district reported a roughly 46% efficiency improvement at the high school and about a 53% improvement at Case (about 600 students).
“Students have been troopers,” Jeff said, noting staff and students are adapting to instructions about items that cause false positives (three‑ring binders, umbrellas, metal drink containers and Chromebooks). He recommended stabilizing hardware for gates at high‑wind locations; stabilizing arms were on order.
Jeff also described the district’s rollout of digital radios: about 130 radios were distributed across nine buildings, with basic training completed for building administrators and secretaries. He said the radios can initiate a lockdown or 911 call from anywhere, work indoors and out, and will be integrated with the phone system to let classroom staff contact administrators on a radio extension. Advanced training and additional programming tweaks were planned.
Administrators acknowledged operational kinks. Parents and students at the meeting urged clearer, consistent arrival rules between Case Middle School and the high school, especially about bags, trapper-keepers and backpacks. Amy Wharton, a parent, said rules differ between Case and the high school and called for unified policies so students are prepared in both buildings.
Jeff explained the district’s rescreening rule: students who leave campus for a school‑sanctioned, continuously supervised activity (for example, a field trip or BOCES) do not need to be rescanned upon return, but students who leave for unsupervised activities or personal appointments must reenter through the front door and be rescanned. Some public commenters asked the board to reconsider that approach; district staff said the policy balances efficiency and continuity of supervision.
Board members and the superintendent said they will continue to tweak procedures, add screening capacity at the high school, and provide additional staff training. The board approved no new spending at the public meeting; implementation actions described are operational and already in progress.
