Gilbert Unified board approves weapons-detection systems for high schools
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Summary
The governing board approved an RFP to buy metal-detection and crowd-control equipment for high schools, authorizing roughly $573,000 in one-time purchases and a $17,000 annual management fee to add a new security layer.
The Gilbert Unified District governing board voted March 25 to approve a request-for-proposal (RFP) award to procure weapons-detection equipment for high schools and certain large events.
Superintendent Shane McCord told the board the move is intended to add another layer of security for students and staff after several recent incidents in which students brought firearms onto campuses elsewhere in the region. The approved package includes 32 open-gate metal-detection columns, stabilization plates, seven rechargeable handheld wands, 100 steel crowd-control barriers, 25 retractable stanchions, 90 heavy-duty folding tables, 32 plastic sandwich-board signs, staff training at each campus and a cloud-management system to monitor devices districtwide.
The district's vendor proposal, presented in the meeting as School Specialty's offer, totals approximately $573,000 in one-time equipment and service costs, plus a recurring $17,000 annual fee for the NetID cloud-management system that will allow administrators to monitor device status. McCord said the systems can be set to different sensitivity settings and that the district's first priority is to detect weapons consistent with international detection standards.
McCord described a pilot and planning process that began in November: administrators and high-school principals observed a demonstration, evaluated logistics for each campus and borrowed demonstration units from neighboring districts for large events. The superintendent said the district plans a phased rollout, starting with smaller campuses such as Gilbert Classical Academy and Canyon Valley, and finishing with the largest high schools, including Mesquite and Campo Verde, with the goal of completing initial rollout before the end of the school year.
Board members debated practicality, staff burden and community perceptions. Questions from board members and staff covered run time and warranty (the vendor offered a two-year warranty with an optional five-year extension), impacts on students who carry Chromebooks or metal water bottles and whether medical devices would be affected. Security staff said detectors are tuned to concentrate on localized metal (for example, laptop hinges) rather than all metal objects; district representatives presented written vendor documentation asserting the systems do not affect implanted medical devices such as pacemakers and insulin pumps.
Superintendent McCord and district security lead Al Kane said principals were asked to design campus-specific plans that use existing staff where possible to staff screening stations; McCord said the district would return to the board if additional personnel are required after rollout. The board also heard that the equipment would be used for large events such as sporting contests.
After extended discussion, the board approved the motion to award the weapons-detection RFP. The voice vote produced unanimous approval among the four board members present; one member (Sheena Murray) was absent.
Board members and district staff emphasized that the detectors are one layer among many (fencing, cameras, secure entries and security personnel) and not a complete solution. The superintendent said the decision responds to a duty to make campuses safer and that communications materials and campus-specific instructional videos will be produced for students, staff and families ahead of wider rollout.
