The district is currently running a pilot program using digital hall passes and presented the idea of giving each teacher a panic button.
Ken James, the executive director of junior high schools, alternative education and safety programs for the district, went over those options during a Governing Board study session on school resource officers and security at the Jan. 15 meeting.
District officials were asked if the presentation was just a point of interest or if the district was seriously considering putting metal detectors in its high schools. Assistant Superintendent (PreK-12 schools) Michael De La Torre said it was open for discussion.
The cost of doing so would be about $1.5 million. Each detector set costs between $18,000 to $20,000. James said they would need four sets for each of CUSD's six high schools. So that cost would be around $480,000.
Then the schools would need the staff to monitor the machines. They would need two security guards and one administrator for each set. The cost of that personnel for the 180 days of school would be just over $976,000.
"Some districts are starting to utilize metal detectors," James said. "We're hearing pros and cons on it from a few districts around us."
The members of the governing board did not discuss their views on putting metal detectors in schools. Ultimately, it would be their decision.
Santan Junior High is running the digital hall pass pilot program. So far, James said, it's working well.
Each student can request a hall pass on their computer. The teacher sees the request and can decide upon it. If approved, the student can leave the class to go to an assigned bathroom.
Monitors have a list on their computers of which students have hall passes. They can also see how long a student has been away from their classroom and which bathroom they can use.
James said they can also deny a pass to students who tend to request passes at the same time that they know usually hang out together.
"The intent is to really begin to implement this at all of our campuses come the fall," De La Torre said. "It allows us to track where students are going. ... It gives us a digital record of how often kids are getting out of class."
James said one thing they've learned from the pilot program is that students are staying in class longer.
"What Santan is finding out, since they're piloting that, students aren't asking to go to the restroom as much, or asking to leave the classroom because they feel like they're being watched."
Another idea James offered were new staff badges that come equipped with a panic button.
"Anybody can push that button," James said. "It notifies the administrator or security, and some of them will notify police and/or fire."
James went over some of the other security measures that have already been added to schools, including SARA (Single Access Reception Areas) Ports and cameras installed that are monitored daily.
"We have security guards that will monitor the cameras the whole time, all day long," James said. "Do we have enough cameras to cover all parts of the campus?"
Despite all the new technology, James said the key to keeping people safe is still people. He said that is why it's important for school resource officers (SROs) to develop relationships with students.
CUSD has SROs at all of its high schools and junior highs. That cost is paid for with grants from the Arizona Department of Education .
James stressed one of the best safety measures schools can take it to keep all classrooms locked, something CUSD has been doing. He said they have security personnel go out to the campuses and check occasionally to make sure teachers are keeping their classrooms locked.
"I've been to three different conferences on school security and school safety, and in almost every session this is the one safety measure that everybody mentions, this can be the most important safety measure at a school, is lock those classroom doors."
In other news from the Jan. 15 meeting, the Governing Board elected Patti Serrano to be its president for 2025 on a 4-1 vote. New board member Ryan Heap voted against that.
Barb Mozdzen was elected vice president on a 3-2 vote, with Kurt Rohrs and Heap casting the opposition votes.
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