One year later: Columbia Board of Education candidates reflect on weapons detection system as district plans safety initiatives
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Columbia Public Schools is approaching one year since installing a weapons detection system to enhance school safety.
Now, the district is considering a public service announcement on safe firearm storage, a board resolution and further discussions on educating families about gun safety.
CPS purchased 15 weapon detection systems from Communications Technologies Inc. last April, which cost the district $260,726. Additional weapons detection systems were approved by the Board of Education at its Dec. 9 meeting in order to help with traffic flow issues.
Board of Education President Suzette Waters acknowledged that there have been some growing pains, though she believes the move has been positive.
“I think the rollout was, as expected, a little bit bumpy. Putting out that whole new process of getting students, thousands of students, in the door through a different door and with a different process was a little bit overwhelming in those first couple of weeks of school. The administration at the buildings has been able to smooth it out,” Waters said during a Wednesday interview. “We could use a few more building safety and security aides. Those conversations about the hiring of people depend on budget and those are covered.”
School board candidate Erica Dickson believes the weapons detection system was a worthwhile investment, citing her previous experience working in the district.
“As the assistant director of Student Services, you're very aware of the occurrences of weapons being on campus, and because that has been a thing, I do think that the weapons detection system was very necessary,” Dickson said on Wednesday.
However, school board candidate Ken Rice said the move may have been a “broad stroke” by the district, citing loopholes students have used to sneak weapons into the building.
“We haven't got any data from it, so we don't know how effective it really is,” Rice said on Wednesday. “I do know that almost every kid you ask knows how to beat the metal detector by just putting their a knife in a can like the Stanley Cup and they lift the cans over. They could put a real sliver of a knife into a laptop and do that. “
Data from the CDC shows that guns are the leading cause of death among children ages 1-19 in the United States. Youth gun violence has been on the rise in Columbia. Data from the Missouri State Highway Patrol shows the city reported 348 gun-related crimes last year, including nine fatalities. Of those incidents, 70 involved children ages 10-17, the second-highest of any age group.
Columbia Public Schools is now working on keeping weapons out of the hands of students by issuing a public safety announcement about the safe storage of guns.
“If we can keep weapons out of the hands of students in the first place, then they can't get to school and nobody wants their child to come across a firearm and harm themselves or somebody else,” Waters said. “I think that is a conversation that was well received, but nothing has been put in place yet.”
The public service announcements have been under discussion by the board since August 2023 and were revisited during its March 20 meeting. During that meeting, district spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark said the district has worked with the Columbia Police Department to draft a script. CPS still needs to finalize the script and schedule a recording date before releasing the videos in the coming weeks. The PSAs will be produced at no cost to the district.
Check back for updates.
