BROCKTON, MASS. (WHDH) - Brockton High School has ramped up security following two recent gun scares but their new screening process had students waiting in long lines to get into their classrooms Monday.
Officials are implementing walk-through metal detectors as part of their enhanced safety measures.
They previously used hand-held detectors but felt the walk-through ones were more efficient, according to a Brockton Public Schools spokesperson.
Some students said they had to wait for hours outside the school to get through the screening process.
“It makes me feel a little bit safer but at the same time it’s annoying because you’re losing class time and things like that,” said student Joel Pires.
With bad weather on the way, many say the long wait times are a concern.
“Put them in the auditorium, put them in the gym,” parent Heather Derosa suggested. “Do something to keep them somewhat comfortable.”
The school announced Tuesday that they will be opening the building at 6:15 a.m. to allow students who arrive early to take advantage of shorter lines.
Those who show up early may sit in the respective cafeterias and spend time with friends until it is time to go to class. Breakfast will also be provided.
Along with going through a metal detector, students are now only allowed to bring a bag about the size of their district laptop or smaller, the spokesperson added. Students who brought their regular school bags were warned not to bring them back on Tuesday.
They must also drop their sports bags off at the gymnasium before school and their musical instruments at the fine arts building.
“It’s sad, but kids have to be safe,” said parent Lisa Dias. “Because kids shouldn’t have to worry about going to school and being shot, or someone has a gun or anything.”
On Friday, the school issued a shelter-in-place order after administrators say they became aware of a Snapchat photo showing a student with a magazine clip in his waistband.
School officials pulled the student from class and he allegedly admitted to having taken the photo in September and posting it Friday morning.
He is slated to be criminally charged and face school disciplinary procedures.
On Oct. 8, another student was arrested for bringing a gun into the high school, which also prompted a shelter-in-place order.
Some students said they understand why guns are on the streets, and in the halls sometimes.
“There’s mad crazy stuff that happens in Brockton,” said student Nalyiah Pires. “So, they feel like they need protection. So I feel like it’s OK that some people have guns.”
The high school welcomed a new principal Monday.
Cynthia Burns returned to the high school after serving as principal at the Keith Center since 2015.
She was previously Dean of the Azure building and has worked in the district for 24 years, first as a history teacher and later as an administrator.
Burns plans to meet with staff and students over the next several weeks.
“I, like all of you, have been gravely disappointed in the incidents that have taken place at BHS since the start of the school year and I want to be very clear. I will not allow the harmful actions of a few students to be a distraction to or cause fear in the thousands of students who are doing the right thing,” she said. “Enough is enough.”
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