CHESAPEAKE, Va. — The Chesapeake School Board is working towards even more safety measures for the upcoming school year, including a pilot program for metal detectors and possibly arming School Security Officers (SSOs).
The continued conversation comes after a 6-year-old student shot his teacher in Newport News, bomb threats in Chesapeake and students bringing guns into schools across Hampton Roads.
During a special meeting Tuesday night, Superintendent Dr. Jared Cotton asked for school board input on their next steps.
"If we wanted to explore this extra layer of protection," he said, "we need some direction."
Assistant Director of School Safety Penny Shultz said they are in the process of getting funds to hire 25 new school security officers, along with implementing a small-scale pilot program of metal detectors.
Once they secure the funding for those detectors through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, they will go inside Oscar Smith High School, Joliff Middle School and Greenbriar Intermediate School.
"Regionally and nationally, we have students bringing things into school at any age, so we want to see how practical it is, how effective it is at all levels, so we can determine if it’s something we want to invest in in the future," said Cotton.
School Board member Kim Scott said she would rather see funds used elsewhere.
"I would prefer to see funds go towards implementing SSOs that are eligible to be armed rather than metal detectors. I think metal detectors are a false sense of security."
Ultimately, they decided to move forward with the pilot program.
That led the board to their next point of looking into what it would take to allow SSOs to be armed.
"I definitely think exploring this is a great idea and I support it 100%," said School Board Member Dr. Brittany Walker.
Shultz told the board there’s a lot that goes into approving that, including getting certain certifications from law enforcement agencies, allocating funds for salaries, gear, and training, as well as amending school board policies.
"Right now, that policy prohibits any employee of a school board member from carrying a firearm on school property," she said during Tuesday's meeting.
It’s important to note the difference between an SSO and a School Resource Officer (SRO). An SRO serves as an on-site law enforcement officer, while an SSO would work directly for the school board.
In the end, it’s something the board decided they wanted to look into.
"I definitely sense the community wanting an armed presence," said Scott.
"They’re also going to serve a very valuable purpose if, God forbid, the worst happened," echoed School Board Member Thomas Mercer.
Again, nothing has been set in stone in terms of the policies, but the board gave the go-ahead to Superintendent Cotton and his team to keep that process moving and look into what it would entail and how they would fund it.