Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wicomico schools propose districtwide weapons‑detection plan; council weighs capital vs. operating costs
Summary
Wicomico County Public Schools presented a three-tier weapons‑detection proposal covering high schools (Tier 1), all secondary schools (Tier 2) and every school (Tier 3). One‑time equipment costs were estimated at about $1.6 million districtwide and recurring staffing costs for school‑security employees were estimated at roughly $4 million annually for full implementation; the board requested county budget consideration for FY27.
Wicomico County Public Schools presented a districtwide weapons-detection proposal and asked the council to consider funding. Superintendent Micah Stauffer and school-safety staff outlined three tiered options:
• Tier 1 — High schools and specialty programs: 6 buildings, 11 entrances, ~18 units; estimated equipment cost ~$450,000 and additional staffing cost (16 SSEs) about $1.2 million (first-year annualized staffing cost).
• Tier 2 — All secondary schools (including middle schools): 10 buildings, 19 entrances, ~32 units; estimated equipment cost ~$800,000 and staffing of ~32 additional SSEs at about $2.5 million annually.
• Tier 3 — Every school and program districtwide: 29 buildings, 52 entrances, ~67 units; estimated equipment cost ~$1.6 million and additional SSE staffing of 57 positions (~$4 million annually). The board presented a rough districtwide total around $6 million (one‑time equipment plus first‑year staffing) and emphasized that equipment would be a one‑time capital purchase while staffing is an ongoing operating cost.
School officials said they are vetting vendors for throughput (speed of scanning to avoid morning bottlenecks), low nuisance-alarm rates, training packages, and software/firmware updates; some vendors offer leasing options that could include ongoing updates. SSEs would receive the same Maryland Center for School Safety (MCSS) training used for school resource officers; SSEs are not armed and would focus on operations and perimeter security while SROs remain the law‑enforcement response layer.
Councilmembers asked whether SSE roles might be contracted, whether cannabis community‑grant funding could help, and how the capital/operating split should be handled (units as capital; staffing as recurring operation). School officials requested that capital funding be considered in the FY27 capital plan and said they could phase implementation if budgets require it, while expressing a preference to implement districtwide. The board and council agreed to discuss options for funding and to include one‑time needs in upcoming capital submissions.
