MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — Thousands more Charlotte-Mecklenburg high school students will start going through body scanners in the coming weeks.
CMS Superintendent Earnest Winston said at a Tuesday night school board meeting the district will put body scanners in 14 more high schools to try and curb weapons entering campuses.
It’s been a little under a week since seven initial CMS high schools started using body scanners.
“I'm happy to report that phase one of the Evolv scanner installation has been completed and training is on schedule at the first seven schools as part of phase one," Winston said.
The student advisor for the CMS School board said he met with students about their experiences.
“Many support it, many don't feel like this is a good idea," Juan Torres Munoz, the CMS Student Representative, said. "The students who support it are especially those who don't want to clear backpacks and half, and half have some experienced something experienced with guns, so they feel like there may be a solution to the problem in which it's not.”
Winston said staff is still being trained on the scanners.
“Our team is very confident that the lessons that we learn as part of phase one implementation will help guide us with the future rollout of this initiative," Winston said.
The district is now on the next rollout of scanners.
Schools in phase two include South, West, and East Mecklenburg, in addition to Myers Park, David W. Butler, and Rocky River high schools.
Seven more schools are in phase three. They include Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology, Ardrey Kell, Olympic, Providence, Independence, Hawthorne, Williams Amos Hough, and Palisades high schools.
Winston also said he plans to redistribute clear backpacks.
"We are talking to the vendor and the manufacturer to make sure we erase all doubts with regard to the safety of the backpacks," he said.
The district stopped giving the bags out due to a warning tag related to possible harmful material.
Once the district works out any logistical problems with the current phases of body scanners other high schools will start seeing body scanners.
According to a CMS source, the district spent about $4.7 million on all 21 body scanners in phases one through three in high schools. Phase one high schools' body scanners cost over 1.67 million. Phase two high schools' body scanners cost nearly $1.43 million. Phase three high schools' body scanners totaled more than $1.79 million.
The purchase order said phases two and three should be installed the week of April 11.
Contact Shamarria Morrison at smorrison@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.