CPS expands weapons detection systems to more school buildings ahead of first day of school
Nia Hinson
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Two additional school buildings in Columbia will have weapons detection systems on the first day of class on Tuesday for the first time.
According to Columbia Public Schools spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark, Douglass High School and the Columbia Area Career Center will now have weapons detection systems. The district implemented the systems during the 2024-2025 school year for Battle, Hickman and Rock Bridge high schools.
Baumstark said six additional systems were approved for purchase by the Columbia Board of Education in December 2024. It cost the district $102,246 and was paid for by the Safety and Security Operation Budget.
The systems created long lines last school year, as CPS worked out the kinks of the new technology.
In a statement sent to ABC 17 News Monday afternoon, Baumstark said the district isn’t anticipating the systems to cause any delays during the upcoming school year.
“Last year, was the very first time we’d implemented the system and there was a steep learning curve for everyone. Now, with a full year under our belts and many efficiencies realized we’re in a much better position to begin the year with minimal issues,” Baumstark said.
The district will also utilize Raptor technology at every building during the new school year after it was implemented last year. The system requires all visitors to scan their IDs to gain entrance. It will do a check against the sex offender registry, as well as check for anyone who may be banned from visiting.
“What it does is we have a national list that we actually do additional work to keep updated and it’ll pull up the offender if there’s an offender,” Raptor Technologies spokesman David Rogers said. “If you’ve got a parent whose been banned from campus, if you’ve got custody issues and somebody is not allowed to pick up a child on Tuesdays and Thursdays or something like that, you’re able to put that into the system.”
According to Rogers, 43% of school districts in the state of Missouri utilize some form of Raptor technology. That equates to 239 districts that have implemented the software, or are in the process of doing so. Rogers said that number ranks high compared to other states.
St. Louis was the latest school district to implement the technology, approving it last week, Rogers said.
The Columbia Board of Education also approved a contract to replace the exterior doors at Rock Bridge High School during its Aug. 11 summer session. Baumstark told ABC 17 News on Monday that the district still needs to order the doors. A timeline for when they’ll be installed will be set following that.
CPS will welcome nearly 19,000 students this school year, according to a release from the district.