HUTTO – Students at the Ninth Grade Center and Hutto High School will see increased safety measures starting on May 8. Hutto Independent School District has installed walk-through weapons detection systems at those campuses and has been training staff on their use.
The system is a walkthrough device that uses extremely low frequency radio waves, similar to loss- prevention detectors used at retail stores. It scans for items such as guns, explosives and knives, but can also detect other contraband such as vape pens.
An alarm will sound if a person carrying a suspected item walks through. The staff member monitoring the machine will see a picture of where the suspected item is located. Staff must then do a manual check to confirm presence of prohibited items.
Hutto Independent School District received a $420,000 grant to purchase three of these mobile systems. They plan to eventually use the items during largescale district events such as football games and graduation.
