ZANESVILLE − The Maysville Local School District hopes to implement new gun detectors this month after the purchase was approved at the October meeting of the board of education.
“This is definitely more of a proactive measure than a reactive measure,” said Maysville Local School District Superintendent Brian Blum.
Six new gun detectors were purchased for $118,000 from a company called OpenGate. The purchase came from the school district's general operating fund.
One detector will be installed in the administration center, three will be added at Maysville middle and high schools (building 6-12) and two will be installed at Maysville Elementary.
The detectors have already been delivered and require staff training before being put into use.
“All of our administrators, our SROs, our safety director, we're all going to get this training because we're going to be the ones responsible for setting them up and calibrating them every morning and making sure they're ready to go. to learn that whole process,” Blum said.
The detection systems are capable of different sensitivities, so depending on the school's daily needs or events, the detectors can be calibrated to detect anything as aggressive as guns and knives to more benign objects like vape pens.
“You can make it very sensitive, or you can just worry about guns coming in.”
“It's another layer of safety we're adding to our school system,” Blum noted. “The board felt this was a very proactive way to improve the safety of students and employees.”
The district has a safety committee that has been meeting for the past two years and focuses on ways to improve school and student safety. Some other recent upgrades include updated intercom systems and door buzzers with connected sensors and cameras and two-way radios for administrators and security personnel.
Shawn Digity is a reporter for the Zanesville Times Recorder. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Maysville schools install six gun detectors in 'proactive measure'
