MUSD officials train to use weapons-detecting systems at high schools

Maricopa school officials last week tested weapons detector systems at the entrances to Desert Sunrise and Maricopa High Schools.

The Ceia Opengate systems are capable of detecting guns, bullets and knives, said Tracey Pastor, assistant superintendent of administrative services at Maricopa Unified School District. Each pair of columns costs $17,500 and come with a 10-year warranty.

It is a major step in shoring up student safety on the two campuses, which are only part of the districts efforts to make all MUSD schools safe for students and weapons free.

“We’re very satisfied with how things are going,” Pastor said. “The first week of implementation we wanted to focus on procedure, the logistics of it.”

She called the Opengate columns “the most commonly used brand of weapons detectors in the U.S.”

The system with columns, which are 25 pounds each, eliminates the need for students to empty their bags, purses and backpacks.

Administrators, security officers and student resource officers were trained in the system’s procedures. They include students handing them their computers or other items not in backpacks.

Pastor explained that Opengate systems allow students to walk through two 6-foot-high columns with their backpacks strapped to both shoulders so they don’t touch and trigger the device.

Green lights atop the columns turn red if dense metal is detected, Pastor said.

The systems can detect some heavier metal water bottles and metal ring binders, which can trigger a “nuisance alarm,” she said. Smaller metal items such as cell phones and car keys do not touch off the devices.

Pastor said she believes the newly trained high school staffers and officers will now be prepared to use the systems efficiently when classes resume Jan. 2, after winter break.

Students who prompt alarms when they walk through the columns may be asked to step aside and be scanned with a metal-detecting wand, she said.

School district officials have taken other steps to secure campuses, including renovation of the main entrances and offices of Maricopa Elementary School and Maricopa Wells Middle School.  

Clear bags are also required at sporting and other events at both high schools.