Parent tells Hoke County board campus security systems aren’t reliable; administration to follow up
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Summary
A parent told the Hoke County School Board the school's ID scanners and security practices are failing and could lead to a catastrophic incident if not fixed; administration asked for contact information and said it will follow up. No formal action was taken.
A Hoke County High School parent urged the board Feb. 10 to fix malfunctioning security systems and improve monitoring, saying overwhelmed safety officers and broken scanners prevent the district from accurately tracking students.
“If it's not working, what is the plan forward to make sure we're fixing it?” the parent, identified in the record as Ishaia DeRear Senior, asked the board, describing a recent “destructive” conversation with the high‑school principal about facility safety. He said school safety officers are stretched too thin to fully secure campus operations and questioned how the district will maintain accountability when scanners fail.
The board chair asked for the parent’s contact information so staff could follow up; administration invited further discussion with district leadership. A staff member asked that the parent leave contact details to arrange a more detailed conversation with Dr. Spells (administration). No formal motions or immediate policy changes were made at the meeting.
Why it matters: the parent framed the problem as a systemic safety gap — not only a single device failure but a set of “loopholes” that, he said, compound through the school year. He warned that continued delay to fix systems could lead to a catastrophic outcome and requested a sustained tracking plan.
Next steps: administration agreed to follow up with the parent and to review the reported equipment and staffing issues; the board did not set a deadline or direct a formal study during the public meeting.
Outcome: public comment; follow‑up requested by administration.
