Franklin Regional to install weapons detection system at senior, middle schools

Franklin Regional School District will install a weapons detection system at both its senior high and middle school, according to a letter sent to district families earlier this week.

The OpenGate Weapons Detection System, which will be installed based on the recommendation of the district’s safety committee, is a portable, non-invasive system designed to detect weapons on a student or in their bag or backpack.

It can also detect vaping devices, school officials wrote.

According to the letter, the system “will be monitored by FR administrators and our school police who will ensure the process moves smoothly and creates minimal disruption.”

“This is all part of our continuous upgrading and updating,” Superintendent Gennaro Piraino said. “Right now, we do bag searches as students come in the door, and this actually enhances that, makes it better and faster for students getting into the building.”

Below, watch a video of how the OpenGate system functions.

The system consists of two free-standing pillars. Unlike traditional metal detector gates, no mechanical or electrical connection is required between the pillars.

It can be used both indoors or outdoors, and district administrators said it is designed to work without slowing the normal flow of students into the building.

“It also lets us move to the middle school and have those types of measures in place there,” Piraino said. “But it’s all part of ensuring we have a safe education environment for students.”

The Hempfield Area School District also is preparing to test out the OpenGate system, starting on Feb. 21.