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District installs Chea open‑gate weapons detectors after grant bid fails; staff outline costs and staffing needs
Summary
District staff described purchases of Chea Open Gate weapons detectors after a Department of Justice grant application was unsuccessful; the board heard cost per lane, current deployments, grant outcome and staffing impacts for wider use.
Clover School District officials told the board they have purchased portable Chea Open Gate weapons-detection lanes for secondary campuses after a federal grant application was unsuccessful.
Director of safety Dr. Hopkins said the district initially investigated a variety of weapons-detection systems after an on-campus incident prompted a review of security options. Hopkins said the district ordered two detector lanes in October and later expanded the order; with additional lanes arriving soon, the district will have five lanes in total. “These ended up being less than that. They were about $18,000 a lane when we began to order these this year,” Hopkins said, describing a lower price than initial estimates. Hopkins also said the district received about $7,000 from a state grant but did not win a Department of Justice award that had been pursued.
Hopkins said the detectors are in use at Clover High School for random checks and at athletic events; some handheld detectors arrived for additional deployments. He described the units as owned purchases (not leased) with support included — “we own them and we have support for, I think it's four years.”
Board members asked about operational impacts. Hopkins said running multiple lanes requires administrative staff and the school resource officer to direct students, monitor indicator lights and perform secondary searches if the system flags an item. He said the units are weatherproof and in use at other large venues. The board discussed the practical challenge of staffing multiple entrances for continuous screening and Hopkins said coverage could be done on a rotating basis but that manning all entrances simultaneously would be “counterproductive” without extra personnel.
Hopkins confirmed the district will continue seeking grants and may seek a recurring budget line to add detectors over time. No board vote on procurement was recorded at the meeting; Hopkins said the district used an earlier board appropriation of $100,000 for safety initiatives to fund initial purchases.
The presentation included a short description of training for secondary administrators and a reminder that the district will continue to evaluate how to integrate the detectors with existing random searches and drug-dog visits.
