As sheriff calls for more metal detectors, WS/FCS superintendent says it will take community effort

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools officials announced plans to increase the random use of metal detectors this year. 

But after a handgun was found at Carver High School, on a day with no metal detectors up, Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough called a press conference on Tuesday to denounce the current system. 

“We can't go with this, this random thing, right? Because random doesn't tell you when the gun is going to be there," Kimbrough said. "You don't go to a Wake Forest game, they randomly have metal detectors. You don't go through TSA, and they have random metal detectors. Why are we playing with that when it comes to our kids?”

Superintendent Tricia McManus says the district isn’t opposed to using them every day, but it’s not that simple. 

The metal detectors require dozens of teachers and staff to operate them and search each student’s backpack. She says that’s a lengthy process and a big ask for educators who didn’t go to school to become law enforcement. 

“What we're saying is we need help if we're going to use the systems we currently have," McManus said. "If he wants, every morning, officers to stop at one of our schools and help. If we can get other folks to be in our schools, to help with that, and not pull teachers who need to be in their classrooms.”

The district recently used grant funding to purchase eight more sophisticated weapons detection systems which are expected to make the process more efficient.

But McManus says it would cost $2 million to have enough of them for every school. If they’re successful, she says she’ll look for a funding source, but she also wants to address the root of the problem. 

“Why are students feeling the need to bring a weapon on campus? And in every single case, the students will tell you it's protection," McManus said. "There is a deeper rooted issue that we have in our community with gang violence and with violence in general. Why do students have access to all these guns? There are guns on our streets.”

She plans to meet with law enforcement officials in the coming weeks to discuss how to tackle gang violence in the community.

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.