Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools to increase random use of metal detectors

Increased use of random metal detectors at Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools began this week and will continue through the end of the school year.

District officials say this is in response to recent gun violence in the community and weapons found on school property.  

Earlier this month, a gun misfired from a student’s backpack at Parkland High School and injured another student. And just this week, an 18-year-old at Glenn High School was charged with a felony for bringing guns on campus. Multiple middle school students were also recently charged for posting threats of mass violence on social media. 

At a school board meeting this week, Superintendent Tricia McManus said increasing the use of metal detectors is just one part of the solution. 

“We've got to have a focus on mental and behavioral health, while we continue to focus on security measures, like the things we have in place with cameras and access control, and metal detection and all that," McManus said. 

The district initially began increasing the use of random, unannounced metal detectors last year. But McManus says the current process has caused delays in students entering school and requires a lot of manpower.

“One of the things about our current detectors and process, we are very thorough. We are not just walking through," McManus said. "Every bag is checked. It is a very, very thorough process. And so it is very time-consuming.”

She says the district’s safety and security team is working with law enforcement to find more efficient solutions for the future. For now, students are being asked to bring only the most necessary items to school.

Also at the meeting, the Board of Education voted to renew and extend the superintendent’s contract. McManus will continue to serve the district until 2029. 

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