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Banning Unified outlines infrastructure upgrades before adopting weapons-detection systems
Summary
District safety coordinator presented audit findings recommending fencing, gate repairs/automation, expanded camera coverage and single-point entry vestibules before any wider adoption of weapons-detection technology. The board discussed costs and a summer timeline for work.
BANNING, Calif. — The Banning Unified School District presented a plan April 10 to address campus infrastructure needs before expanding any weapons-detection system at secondary schools.
District school safety coordinator Mr. Shulriff reviewed an audit and safety-committee feedback that identified four priorities: improved fencing and vehicle-gate repairs/automation; additional staffing to support any detection system; broader camera coverage at all sites; and true single points of entry (secured vestibules) at campuses. The district ran a three-day pilot of two scanning stations at Nicollet Middle School earlier in the year and gathered student and staff feedback as part of its review.
"There is a need to improve our infrastructure at the secondary level," Shulriff said, listing fencing, automated gates and secured vestibules as immediate concerns. He said camera upgrades are already underway and that the district is on the fourth site of a phased camera-installation project.
Trustees pressed for detail on priorities, timing and costs. The district said the three secondary schools (Banning High School, Nicolette Middle School and Coombs) are the primary fencing priorities, with Coombs expected to receive the largest additions. Superintendent Davis added an estimated one-time cost of roughly $260,000 for gates and fencing at the secondary level, and noted that the district has attempted to quantify both one-time and recurring costs for the full set of proposed safety improvements.
Timing, the district said, is intended to minimize disruption: work is planned to begin in summer with the goal of completing major items before students return in August. "We try to always prioritize non-student time when we're doing this work," Shulriff said.
On the question of the detection system itself, the district emphasized that infrastructure and staffing must come first. "In order to support the potential adoption of a weapons-detection system ... there was a need to address these infrastructure concerns," Shulriff said, noting an accelerated timeline for designing and beginning projects and a safety-committee meeting scheduled May 7 to map next steps.
Board members welcomed the emphasis on cameras and secured entries and asked staff to continue clarifying scope, budgets and timelines. The presentation concluded with the board thanking staff for the update and scheduling further safety committee work in May.
The next steps the district described are finalized scope and prioritization at the safety-committee meeting on May 7, continued camera installations over coming months, and planning to begin fencing and vestibule projects in the summer construction window.
