A major problem across schools in North Carolina and the nation for 24 years now is how safe students really are at school. This has been a big problem ever since the Columbine High School Massacre on April 20, 1999.
Here at Leesville Road High School there have been quite a few threats and violent situations. The school board for Wake County has brought up the idea of metal detector use to try and prevent threats and harmful situations, but has been turned down.
At Leesville, there is at least one threat whether its verbal or physical towards the school each year and as a result it forces the school into a code red lockdown. The reason why this is a big problem is the students are put at risk and parents are having to think about if their child will be hurt.
Brandon Kelly, Administrator at LRHS, said, “When you start to talk about school security, we need to start thinking beyond just the thought process of actually placing metal detectors in schools.
“I think it’s our job to make sure that schools are as safe as we can possibly make them to the best of our level. The administrative team here walks in on a daily basis and tries to make sure that the school is the safest we can make it,” said Kelly.
Pros:
The biggest pro of putting more security and possibly metal detectors when walking into school is it ensures near to 100% that everyone in the school is safe and will not be put in harm’s way by guns, knifes, etc.
As of right now many students have to worry about their safety at school. This is a big problem in today’s age because school is a place where you should feel safe and not have to worry about whether a student or someone not from the school may have a firearm or even worse.
“I think it’s always best to try to have as many security personnel in place as much as you possibly can. I think it would definitely help make our campus safer if we were able to fund heavier security on campus, and I think it would also bring a level of comfort to some of our students and staff members, but does cost quite a bit to fund. But we are going to do everything we can to make this campus safe on a day to day basis and it takes a collaborative effort of administrators, teachers, and students all working together that if there is a threat it needs to be reported so that it can be investigated and dealt with.” said Kelly.
Wake County has turned down the idea of putting metal detectors because they cost too much and they also require a lot more people to use them. But within the school, they do have other safety alternatives like door cameras which allow students to get into the building and the door locks behind but anyone can still come to the doors and be let in, like during lunch periods and class changes.
Cons:
A con to putting more effort like metal detectors in Wake County Schools, but most importantly Leesville Road High School is that it will take students more time to get into school. Therefore making students have more tardies which is already a problem and has been a problem for multiple years now.
This is such a big problem because it creates a domino effect on our school system.
Reasoning for this is if their backpacks have some type of metal on it like a keychain or if a student leaves a metal object in their bag that does no harm to other students whatsoever. Then that person has to get their bag searched causing them to possibly be late to school.
“Metal detectors require a lot of manpower and take quite a bit of personnel to operate them in order for them to be most effective. I know that the school system is looking into them to see what we can do to put the schools in a better situation, but I don’t know if metal detectors are the answer to it all. But I do know that Wake County Schools are working hard to make sure that we are creating a safe environment for every individual in the building,” said Kelly.
Another reason why it is a bad idea putting metal detectors and more security in our school and other Wake County Schools is the question of will the metal detectors will only be used in the morning or all throughout the day as well as during class change?
I am a junior and I play lacrosse at Leesville. One of my hobbies is wakeboarding and I am excited to be a part of LRHS newspaper!