Sheriff proposes biometric weapon safes, training and camera changes for secondary schools

Sheriff Garland Klein proposed installing biometric safes in Warren County secondary schools to store rifles, breaching tools and “mini shields,” and asked the school board to support policy and memorandum-of-understanding changes to put the equipment in place before the next school year.

Klein told the board the proposal grew from an internal request and is intended to “be proactive rather than reactive” during a critical incident. He said the safes would be fingerprint-controlled and located in SRO offices, and that each safe would hold a rifle (unloaded in the safe), breaching tools and a compact shield. Klein said deputies would carry loaded magazines separately in a “go bag” so a rifle could be loaded and deployed quickly if needed.

The sheriff said the plan would start at the county’s secondary schools — Skyline High School, Warren County High School and the middle school — with possible expansion to elementary schools later. He said the sheriff’s office would fund the safes from its budget, ask school maintenance to bolt units to the floor, and request security cameras be repositioned or added near SRO offices. Klein asked the board to allow ordering equipment in May so installation and staff training could occur over the summer and be in place on the first day of school.

Board members asked about several operational details, including whether rifles would remain unloaded in the safes and how the schools would handle after‑hours activities when SROs are not present. Klein said the rifles in the safe would not have a round chambered and that deputies would train on using the shield and breaching tools. He said safes would be bolted down and that fingerprint access would be restricted to permanent SROs and division leadership. Klein also said he planned to update the daily inspection checklist to include checks on the safes.

Board members and staff cited other jurisdictions as models and raised questions on policy, battery life, maintenance, and long‑term relationship management between the sheriff’s office and schools. Klein said Page and Frederick counties already have similar systems and that Shenandoah County is working on one.

No formal action was taken at the meeting; the board signaled interest in moving ahead with policy drafting, updates to the MOU between the sheriff’s office and the division, and presenting a first reading of any policy changes at the April 23 work session to meet the sheriff’s timeline.

Why it matters: The proposal would change how emergency response equipment is stored and accessed on campus and requires coordination across the sheriff’s office, school maintenance and school division policy makers. The board’s next steps will determine whether the program advances to formal adoption and funding for installation and training.