Students entering McKay, North and Roberts high schools will have to walk through weapon detectors starting this week. Salem-Keizer School District officials are rolling out the detectors at all district high schools this year following a pilot that began last spring at South Salem High School. Superintendent Andrea Castañeda announced the shift in October, making the district the first in Oregon to require weapon detectors. McKay will begin using detectors Tuesday, then North and the Roberts campus on State Street will start using them on Thursday. Sprague, McNary and West Salem high schools will follow, though district spokesman Aaron Harada said there isn’t a timeframe for their rollout. The systems are expected to cost $1.86 million over five years, up from an initial estimate of $1.5 million. READ IT: School district FAQ on weapons detectors There’s no plan to begin using detectors at smaller high school campuses, including Early College High School, Roberts at Chemeketa or the Career Technical Education Center. The detectors are part of a broader revamp of school security procedures that began after a teenager fatally shot a classmate and wounded two others in Bush’s Pasture Park last March. The shooting, just blocks from South, prompted a lockdown that terrified students and teachers and brought into public view conversations among district leaders about screening students entering school buildings. Principal Tara Romine passes a Chromebook back to a student passing through weapon detectors at South Salem High School on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Other changes at high schools include vinyl window coverings so people outside schools can’t see into the building, and restricting the number of doors that are unlocked during the day and can be used to enter the building. The expansion comes after multiple incidents in the fall where students brought guns onto high school campuses, triggering lockdowns and law enforcement responses. At West, a student was arrested with a gun outside the school on Sept. 27. At McKay, a student was arrested Oct. 7 after school officials found a gun during a bag search at the start of the school day. Schools will use Evolv scanners after trying two types at South. Those are the same scanners used at entrances to Salem Hospital. Rather than traditional metal detectors, weapon scanners are supposed to screen both for specific shapes and for higher-density metals that can indicate the presence of a firearm or other weapon. They can also detect vape pens, which has allowed the district to use money from a settlement with e-cigarette manufacturer Juul to pay for some of the costs. Detectors are staffed by existing campus safety officers, with principals and other educators helping out during peak time in the morning. School officials also added bag scanners with conveyor belts so students don’t have to remove laptops from backpacks. “It’s all about getting you through as quickly as we can possibly get you through,” said Chris Baldridge, the district’s director of safety and risk management, in a video for students explaining the system. A security officer at South Salem High School watches a screen for alerts from the weapons detector system at the school’s main entrance on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Since returning from winter break, schools have held informational nights to address questions and concerns about the technology. Harada said many have centered on whether students will be delayed getting to class because of the scanners. Data from the South pilot showed a slight increase in tardies this fall after scanners were in place. An average student was tardy to about 18 of every 100 classes in the fall, up from 15 during the previous school year. But attendance at south also improved during the pilot, while problematic behavior, including fights, decreased. READ IT: Weapon detector pilot review McKay is adding the detectors after also rolling out pouches to lock up student cellphones during the school day.  “We can scan, you can feel safe inside of your school and be safe inside of your school and be minimally affected. You should be able to get through our doors with reasonable ease and off to your classes and know that you’re safe sitting in your desk,” Baldridge said in the video. Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241. A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE. The post McKay, North, Roberts add weapon detectors appeared first on Salem Reporter.