November’s roster of basketball games kicked off Henry County Public Schools’ expanded use of metal detectors on certain campuses.
Ben Boone, the county’s assistant superintendent for operations, said the change was out of a desire to proactively enhance security at four county schools.
“We will continue to evaluate this process and make decisions accordingly with student and staff safety at the forefront,” Boone said.
The detectors, according to Boone, cost a total of $75,000 and are staffed by school resource officers. He added that the price of increased SRO presence will depend on how large an event is.
Currently Magna Vista High School, Bassett High School, Fieldale-Collinsville Middle School and Laurel Park Middle School are the only schools making limited use of detectors. Detectors will cover the primary entrances of these facilities, and will scan for metallic objects with an emphasis on firearms or knives.
Previously, the Community Learning Center in Collinsville was the only campus in the division to use metal detectors.
According to Boone, students will not be scanned during regular school hours.
“At this time metal detectors are only being used for winter activities,” he said.
But Boone confirmed that the limited rollout could lead to regular use outside of winter after-school activities.
The middle and high schools were ideal for the rollout, he said.
“It was the decision to start with middle and high school events due to the larger number of attendees at these events,” Boone said, adding that there currently aren’t any concrete plans to expand beyond winter activities.
Boone said school officials see the detectors as a way to enhance security at Henry County’s two middle and high schools.
“We are continuously looking for ways to improve safety at our schools and events,” Boone said. “With the use of metal detectors at after-school events, this adds an extra layer of security for all community members who are attending these events.”
Henry County is one of a number of Virginia localities to recently explore the use of metal detectors at schools. In 2023, a number of other Virginia school systems opted for full or partial implementation of campus metal detectors.
In March, Alexandria schools rolled out metal detectors at a handful of facilities as part of a trial run. While Henry County isn’t explicitly treating its program as a trial, Alexandria officials have called theirs a pilot program and limit detector use to summer months.
In May, Prince William County implemented a detector program that, like Henry County’s, is specifically for middle and high schools.
In January, Newport News Public Schools began using metal detectors in all of its schools, a decision that came after an elementary school student shot a teacher.
Henry County moved to add metal detectors after the Newport News shooting but did not explicitly cite it as a reason for the decision. The Henry County School Board requested and received county funding during the budgeting process at the end of last fiscal year.
Prince William County Schools and some other systems are using weapons detectors in lieu of metal detectors. While metal detectors are designed to identify certain metals, particularly those used in knives and firearms, weapons detectors search for weapons regardless of the metal used. Considered to be the more modern of the two technologies, weapon detectors can make use of body scans or radiation imaging.
The addition of metal detectors could also have an impact on the presence of school resource officers, particularly at sporting events.
“This is certainly a possibility at events with larger crowds,” Boone said, adding that it’s one of several factors school officials will have to consider as the system becomes more adept at using detectors.