District outlines weapons-detection rollout after summer social-media threat

The Lamar County School District provided a security update after officials said a social-media threat this summer targeted students at Summerall Middle School.

At the meeting Chief G. Hill said school officials and local and state law enforcement traced the origin of the posts and are handling the matter through both school and law-enforcement channels. "Because of her and her team's quick action … we were able to trace and track down where that all came from," one speaker said while thanking Chief Hill and local partners.

Chief Hill also described the district’s implementation of a weapons-detection system at Summerall Middle and High School. She said the district has convened a leadership team and designated "champions" to guide procedures and ensure the system is implemented with fidelity and with minimal impact on instructional time. “A lot of planning going into that process and procedure,” Chief Hill said.

District leaders said more work remains to finalize procedures before broad rollouts; they emphasized balancing safety measures with preserving classroom time. No contract awards, vendor names or cost figures were presented at the meeting.