Hempfield Area School District parents said they’re pleased to hear the district bought five new OpenGate weapons detection systems.
The $121,000 purchase is fully funded through an existing federal safety grant. The new technology will be placed at each of the district’s elementary schools: Fort Allen, Maxwell, Stanwood, West Hempfield, and West Point.
“Protecting our kids is the most important thing; it goes before anything else,” parent Jolene Tait said.
“I think it’s a good idea,” parent Justin Campbell said. “Any way we can promote safety and make sure that the kids are coming first in those situations.”
In a statement to Channel 11, the Hempfield School District said they’ll slowly implement the devices in phases across the schools.
Parents in the district said explaining the new technology to kids is a good idea before they see it at school.
“I think we as parents just need to pick our wording. I mean, there’s all kinds of dangers in the world, and preparing them at a young age and with the appropriate words is a good thing,” Tait said.
“There’s a lot of places that you can go, baseball games, football games, you know, different areas that have the same situation,” Campbell said.
Hempfield has been using the Opengate systems at their secondary school buildings for the last two years and even started using the technology at home football games and other large sporting events or after-school activities.
“Anytime that we’re talking about kids’ safety, if we are putting that many kids in one building, I think that’s the first priority,” Campbell said.
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