PHOENIX — As the Phoenix Union High School District board received the results of a pilot weapons detection program, students, teachers, and parents shared their thoughts on the controversial safety measure Thursday night.
The district put the detection systems in at Maryvale High School and Bostrom High School in November 2023.
Since then, the Grand Canyon Institute has been looking at the efficacy and perceptions of the technology at the schools, compared to campuses without.
The study found that the systems “significantly reduced” non-firearm weapons at school and reduced firearm incidents.
Surveys found that parents and staff favored the detection systems, while student perceptions were split.
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More than a third of students at the schools said they wanted to keep the detection systems, roughly the same amount reported feeling “neutral” about it and another 27% said they didn’t want them.
Many students showed up to Thursday’s board meeting to make their thoughts known on the technology.
“I want it at every high school. Something safe, something that we can go into school with a smile,” Maryvale student Victor Quevedo said. “At some point, you get used to it.”
Other students shared their concerns about the time it takes to get into class.
“My friend, he is always having the problem that he’s late to class due to the metal detectors,” student Santino Gamboa said. “When it goes off, it sets off his binder then he’s in line for 15-20 minutes.”
The board will decide later on how to move forward with the systems.
