Students, parents and visitors are encountering new weapons detection systems at Commerce ISD campuses, the most visible piece of a broader school security overhaul funded by a roughly $500,000 federal grant.
The district purchased four CEIA OPENGATE weapons detection systems for approximately $95,000 using money from the U.S. Department of Justice School Violence Prevention Program. Commerce ISD Police Chief Seth McDaniel told KETR the systems were already operating at most campuses by late August.
Unlike a conventional metal detector intended to detect virtually any metal someone is carrying, OPENGATE can be configured to identify metallic objects that may represent weapons while allowing people to walk through with many everyday items.
KETR observed an hourlong training session at Commerce High School as district employees learned to operate the new equipment. The security-related training was not open to recording, but KETR spoke afterward with Bill Muller, an account executive and training specialist with Communications Technologies, a distributor of CEIA equipment to K-12 schools.
Muller said the system is intended to allow people to move through more naturally than with traditional metal detectors.
Students generally can pass through carrying common items such as phones and keys without emptying their pockets, according to CISD. Some objects containing larger amounts of metal, including Chromebooks and some binders, may need to be passed around the detectors.
An alert does not necessarily mean the system has detected a weapon.
McDaniel said students who trigger an alert will be directed to secondary screening, where trained CISD personnel will determine its cause. That could include asking a student to identify or remove an object or allowing staff to inspect a bag or other belongings.
"Once the cause of the alert is identified and there is no safety concern, the student will be allowed to continue into the building," McDaniel said.
Screening won't necessarily happen the same way every day
CISD may screen every student on some days and conduct random screening on others.
McDaniel said the unpredictability is intentional. The district does not plan to establish or publicize a regular screening pattern, and decisions may vary according to campus activities, operational needs and other safety considerations.
Parents and other visitors should also expect to encounter the detectors when entering campuses during the school day. Employees may be screened depending on circumstances, although McDaniel said students will be the primary focus of daily screening.
The systems will also travel.
CISD plans to deploy OPENGATE at athletic and other extracurricular events on district property, including football, volleyball, basketball and track and field events. Existing clear-bag and prohibited-item policies remain in effect.
McDaniel said the district wanted to add weapons detection without creating what he described as an "airport-style screening process" each morning.
"The purpose is both prevention and detection," McDaniel told KETR. "We want to make it more difficult for someone to bring a weapon into one of our schools, while also increasing our ability to identify a potential threat before it reaches our students and staff."
Weapons detectors are less than one-fifth of federal project
The four OPENGATE systems account for approximately 19 percent of Commerce ISD's $500,000 School Violence Prevention Program grant.
The remainder is funding a much broader collection of security improvements.
CISD plans to replace campus camera systems throughout the district, except at the new middle school, where a newer system is already installed. The district is also purchasing new handheld radios for school employees and bus drivers, panic buttons and a new emergency-management application intended to immediately notify staff when Standard Response Protocol actions are initiated.
The project also includes a new visitor-management system. McDaniel said it will screen visitors for previous criminal convictions involving offenses that could prohibit them from being on campus.
New electronic access-control systems are also planned.
The district ultimately intends to integrate cameras, door controls, emergency management and visitor management into a common platform across CISD campuses.
McDaniel said CISD sought the competitive federal grant in part to make those improvements without placing the entire financial burden on local taxpayers.
Cost also played a role in selecting OPENGATE. McDaniel said comparable weapons detection systems considered by the district could cost upward of $150,000 per unit. CISD paid approximately $95,000 total for its four OPENGATE units.
The district does not portray the new technology as a standalone solution to school violence.
"No single piece of equipment makes a school safe," McDaniel said, describing weapons detection as one component of an approach that also includes police, trained employees, secure facilities, access control, emergency planning and communications.
Some portions of the half-million-dollar project will operate largely out of public view. The OPENGATE systems will not.
For many Commerce ISD students, weapons detection has already become part of entering school each day.
