Plum Borough School District students and visitors will be greeted by a new set of weapons detection systems in the district this school year.

According to Plum Assistant Superintendent Ashley Boyers, the district has recently purchased two additional OpenGate weapons detection units, similar to the ones used at professional sports events. Two others had already been previously purchased.

The units, he said, will be used initially to screen visitors to Plum High School and for large-scale district events like football games.

But Boyers said the administration would take a “slower approach” to screening students.

Though he said students would not be required to walk through the weapons detectors at the beginning of the school day at first, Boyers said he expects that to become the new reality in the district over time.

The detectors won’t require visitors to remove items from their pockets or take off belts, he said. But if an item does trigger an alert from the machine, guests will be required to undergo a secondary screening with a metal detector wand, Boyers said.

No specific incident spurred the decision to install the units, Boyers said. Instead, he said it was part of the district’s “progressive approach to safety and security.”

Boyer said the board gave authorization to purchase two Open Gate Weapon Detection units at the June 17 school board meeting. The purchase was funded by the safety and security budget for the 2025-26 school year. Cost was $19,000 per unit.

The assistant superintendent said the weapons detectors are only the latest safety feature added at Plum. Last year, he said district staff began wearing devices that allow them to instantly trigger a school lockdown and call the police, as well as report the location of safety concerns within schools.

In the near future, Boyers said he’s hoping to acquire more units to be installed at each of the district’s schools.

“If things continue to progress positively with the technology, I do foresee us acquiring more units and expanding that across the district,” he said.

School Board member Ronald Sakolsky said these detectors strengthen his number one priority: safety.

The need for the units, he said, is “unfortunate,” but he said they’re worth the investment and inconvenience to potentially save a life.

So far, Sakolsky said, he hasn’t heard any negative reactions from district community members.

“If it stops one weapon from getting into an activity and saves the school and community, it did its job,” he said.

Shaler Area School District also recently opted to implement OpenGate weapons detectors at its middle and high schools this fall after a student brought a gun on the bus.

The first day of school at Plum is Aug. 20.

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