Schenectady City School District hosts Safety Fair

Safety concerns increased when multiple fights broke out at Schenectady High School as soon as the school year started, including one involving a knife that sent two students to the hospital. After weeks of public comment, the Schenectady Board of Education approved a resolution to provide weapon detection measures for the high school and middle schools. But what is the best way to keep weapons out of school, is the question.

“I wish they would have done this before instead of this happened, you know, after what happened. But it's better late than never,” said concerned mother, Jacqueline D.

The district held a safety fair for the community to come and check out the options they are considering for some schools. “As of right now, we're looking at you know, we'll probably phase that at the high school, middle schools, but those are the two. That's what’s been recommended to us by my director of safety,” said Superintendent, Dr. Carlos Cotto.

Some systems looked like standard metal detectors. Yet, they come with AI capabilities. “It does find those non-ferrous metals. Which are going to be like your stainless steels. The problem with a lot of walk-through metal detection today or weapons detection systems is they can't find those non-ferrous metals, if you will. But this is the only detector on the market that adheres to a federal standard,” said Jack Shepard, Director of Sales, Athena.

Some remind others of TSA security checkpoints at the airport. The vendors say they can handle the number of kids coming into school with little delay. “And then the bag detection is going to be looking for any threats that can be in your bag. So, we feel like this is the best solution when you have that high volume of kids coming in one time. One door, I think they said they had 1500 students coming in at once. So, we want to get the kids in quickly,” explained Stacy Pucillo, Regional Sales Manager, Xtract One Technologies.

Other options relied on camera capabilities and AI working together to identify a weapons threat. “So, you know what the threat looks like, what type of gun they have, and most importantly, how much time has elapsed since that firearm is underneath each camera. So, you're going to know the last known position,” said Brett Handall, Vice President of Sales, ZEROEYES.

NEWS10 Reporter, James De La Fuente had a chance to test out a few systems to see what they would find in his bag. They were quickly able to point out his two work phones and many pens. No alarms went off. However, one parent said she could get through security with a 3-inch knife, cat ear knuckles, and a nearly five-inch metal object used for protection.

The vendors say that is because the sensitivity levels depend on the school's needs. Thursday, they were set on the lowest setting but can be adjusted to the needs of the school. However, a scan on the conveyor belt did find her pepper spray.

No final decisions have been made. The committee said they are looking for feedback from students and parents for another week. “Engaging and finding ways to connect with our students and our families, our communities. It's just one layer supporting what our community is asking for,” said Cotto.

If all goes well, the new system will be installed over winter break in December.