CCSD Seizes Knives Guns From Students as Teachers Express Safety Concerns

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (702 Times, NV Globe) – According to recent data, students’ knives and guns are being taken from them at Clark County schools.

Between August 8 and December 8 of the 2022–2023 academic year, the Clark County School District confiscated 16 weapons and 112 knives.

This information, which can be seen on the CCSD website, comes as teachers’ security worries persist despite the district’s millions of dollars in spending.

For instance, the CCSD spent $26 million upgrading security at Eldorado High School last year after a student attacked a teacher.

“People are really focused on response, it’s like really programmed in our heads. It’s like in our DNA,” Rick Shaw, a violence prevention expert, said. “The cost of prevention is so minuscule compared to what they spend on security.”

Awareity was founded by Shaw, who also serves as its CEO. He has more than 20 years of experience working to reduce violence in schools.

He collaborates with significant school systems around the nation, such as Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

Although Shaw’s headquarters are in Las Vegas, CCSD is not connected to him. However, he feels that schools are overspending on security.

“We have to start looking at that pre-incident prevention because we can’t respond our way out of this,” Shaw said. “I mean in 2022 there were over 300 school shootings. That’s the most it’s ever been.”

Vicki Kreidel, president of the National Education Association of Southern Nevada, voiced her worries about the surge in violence against teachers last week at the Clark County School District Board of Trustees.

Three young people were detained in December on suspicion of assaulting two Legacy High School teachers.

“As we saw with the Legacy incident, panic buttons won’t save us. But we were hoping that additional actions with safety would follow, we haven’t seen any other measures to improve safety be put into place,” Kreidel told CCSD trustees on Thursday, Jan. 12.

The district installed that immediate alert system at many schools last year so that personnel could utilize it in an emergency.

It has been activated 560 times this school year, according to district data. About 250 of those were for breaches of the student behavior code.

In addition, the CCSD prohibited students from using mobile phones while in class and spent $6 million adding extra surveillance cameras to school buses in an effort to address safety issues.

Credits: 8 News Now