HARRIS COUNTY, Ga. (WTVM) - Backpacks, pencils, and now weapon detectors. Harris County students are back in the classrooms for another school year, but with a new security system.
School superintendent Justin Finney says the district is taking the necessary steps to ensure safety on school grounds.
“We had the opportunity to be in touch with the Barrow County Superintendent staff that went through the shooting last September, and it was life-changing...so we take every opportunity now to prevent that from happening here in Harris County,” said Finney.
The weapon detectors are installed in the following schools:
- Harris County Carver Middle School
- Harris County High School
- Creekside Intermediate School
Harris County Carver Middle School’s Teacher of the Year, Kenneth Boykin, says students must remove certain items before walking through the detector.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We ask students to remove their B.L.U.E. items, binders, laptops, umbrellas, and eyeglass cases. Students remove those, we check those, and they’re able to scan through. The process went smoothly this morning. I think we had only 7% alert rate just from small things, kids forgot to take out their book bags,” said Boykin.
According to Finney, an emergency alert system for teachers is in the works. He says the system will allow them to press a panic button on their badge in case of an emergency.
Copyright 2025 WTVM. All rights reserved.