Manassas City Public Schools to deploy new security screening technology at Osbourn HS
Manassas, Va. (7News) — Manassas City Pubic Schools will soon deploy new security screening technology at Osbourn High School. The school board approved the system in December, and 7News has learned it's expected to officially launch sometime in March.
"It's an important step because it provides another layer of security for our students and staff," said Andy Hawkins, the executive director of finance and operations for Manassas City Public Schools. "It may not be the complete answer to everything, but it is another layer of security already on top of everything else that we have."
The school system also has school resource officers and private security staff on campus.
On Thursday, Hawkins showed 7News where the new security screening system will be installed at Osbourn High School and how it will work.
"It's not a metal detector at all," he explained. "It detects the shapes on a person's body, and in their backpack. And when you walk through this system, it will identify an area of concern," he said. "It is all sorts of weapons it would be able to detect."
The school system spent a little over $400,000 on a four-year contract with a company called Evolv Technology, that makes the security screening system. According to the company's website, it's designed to be non-intrusive and high volume, scanning over 60 people per minute.
Hawkins says that speed was the key for Osbourn High School.
"We have about 2,200 students that need to come in from 7:50 in the morning to about 8:15 in the morning. To get that many students in and get them scanned and able to go through, we needed something that could move those students through quickly," he said.
Evolv describes it as a "touchless system" and says people walking through the sensors won't have to open their bags or remove their phones from their pockets. You can view an Evolv video about the system here.
"We have a subscription method with this company, for a four year term," Hawkins said. "It's approximately $100,000 per year, and the cost depends on how many entrances you have. We're going to have it at three entrances to this school. So we've got duel lanes in two different sets of doors, and one single lane going into the school annex."
But before the school board and school system leadership signed off on the new technology, they wanted to see it in action.
Hawkins did a lot of research on the system, and found that a school system in Dorchester County, Maryland is currently using it.
"So we all drove to Dorchester, Maryland to be able to see it, and talk to the principal and students and staff to determine how they felt about the system," Hawkins, adding that they were impressed by what they saw and heard.
Before the new security screening begins at Osbourn High School, the school system said it will spend the next few weeks training staff and making sure students know what to expect.
"It's about training our staff on how to operate the equipment and training our students on what the expectations are," said Osbourn principal Mike Pflugrath. "The main message is, we love our kids. I'm a parent myself, and I would want this for my kids' school."
Hawkins said the system being installed at Osbourn is something a lot of people have likely seen before in places like sports stadiums, arenas, and entertainment venues.
"It's a very non-intrusive thing. You just walk through it. Most of us have gone to see a football game or baseball game in a big stadium where we've walked through them," he said. "So what will happen is students walk through, the system will scan them, and it would show a red box around it if there's an area of concern."
At that point, he said security officers and staff monitoring the sensors would be alerted.
"The officer or security personnel there would be able to see the system has identified a potential concern, and that area, whether it's your backpack or on your person would be searched and then resolved at that point in time," Hawkins said.
SEE ALSO: 6-year-old student brought gun to Va. school, 'intentionally' shot teacher, police say
It's important to note, Manassas City Public Schools decided to begin using this new security screening technology prior to a shooting last month in Newport News -- where police say a six-year-old student shot and wounded a teacher.
But that case does have many calling for stronger security measures in schools.
"My heart goes out to them, number one," Osbourn's principal said, when asked about his initial reaction to the Newport News case. "And number two, I reflect as a principal, am I doing everything possible to ensure we are safe here? And that's where this Evolv system comes in. This is another layer we can put in."
Hawkins said that Manassas City Public Schools will be the first school system in Virginia to use this security screening technology.
"I hope we're not the last, and there will be many more to follow us," he said.
In fact, in the weeks since the Newport News shooting, Hawkins said several other school systems have reached out in hopes of learning more about the new system being deployed in Manassas.
"We have received other inquiries from around the state, wanting to know about the system, why we chose them, what our contract looks like, how much it costs," he said. "And we hope it will help other school divisions."
The plan in Manassas is to start using the new system at Osbourn High School first, and then potentially expand it to middle and elementary schools.
"We've already had a lot of interest from parents and staff, wanting us to not stop at Osbourn and encouraging us to continue forward, and I think that we will in time," Hawkins said. "It is our intention that once this system is implemented at Osbourn, and if it's working properly as we think it will, then it could be implemented throughout the school system."
After the shooting in Newport News, the superintendent of Prince William County Public Schools indicated they could soon follow in the footsteps of Manassas City Public Schools. Prince William County Public Schools is the second largest school system in Virginia.
Prince William County Superintendent Dr. LaTanya D. McDade wrote the following in a recent letter to families:
"Additionally, recent advances in security screening technology allow for non-evasive detection and accommodate a high volume of staff and students. This new preventative measure is a critical step toward protection and is already successfully implemented in sports stadiums, national museums, and school divisions like Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina. Manassas City Public Schools has recently voted to install the technology in their high school, and we are dutifully exploring this investment into our students’ and staff’s safety. In the coming weeks, PWCS will begin engaging families and community members to discuss and gather input regarding the potential addition of advanced security screening technology in PWCS schools as early as the 2023-24 school year."
