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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials discuss new security measures at retreat

By Stephanie Tinoco
By Stephanie Tinoco

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg School officials discussed the district's new safety measures Saturday at the school board retreat at the Central Piedmont Community College Levine Campus in Matthews.

The retreat comes three months after the fatal shooting inside the hallways of Butler High School and the same week multiple schools were screened.

Some students are still trying to process the tragedy when Bobby McKeithen was shot and killed by classmate Jatwan Cuffie.

"I didn't believe it at all for second, from someone to be shot in your city. (I) just never thought,” student Rolando Tromp said.  “We don't want to go to a school where there are students with guns.”

Channel 9 asked school board members at the retreat if any other safety procedures will be implemented.

Mary McCray, chairman of the board of education, said it’s too early to tell, but they are doing whatever it takes to keep their schools safe.

“We’re having to put some things in place to make sure we don’t have another tragedy such as that,” McCray said.

McCray said the board has received positive feedback about the screenings and officials will continue the random searches at all CMS high schools.

Past coverage: 

Ten schools were randomly screened this week.

Officials said some schools may be screened twice.

“It’s going to be on a rolling basis, so there will be other schools chosen, and some schools may come up twice because of the randomness of this,” McCray said.

The new security plan will test three different models: Screen students as they walk in, screen students in a selected building and screen all students in randomly selected classrooms.

“I do want people to know we’re not the only district doing this,” McCray said.

Students told Channel 9 that they believe the random screenings will work.

"I believe we're going to be safer with these measures set to school,” Tromp said.

McCray said school screenings will be random unless there's a rash of incidents of weapons being found at one school.

In the first week of screenings, school officials only confiscated pepper spray.

CMS uses portable metal detectors, bag searches and security wands in its screening process.

It’s important to know individual students will not be selected for screening, but all schools will eventually be screened.

The board said the screenings will not include elementary or middle schools.

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