Cobb County’s school board approved up to $1.2 million for five weapons-detection dogs and five handlers Thursday, September 17. The teams will rotate through middle schools rather than remain assigned to one campus each.
FOX 5’s Thursday-night report says the district already has 16 dogs serving its high schools. The new funding follows weapons-related safety incidents, including a firearm recovered at Campbell Middle School in August.
Five teams for 26 schools
The district has 26 middle schools, East Cobb News reported from the meeting. Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said the high-school teams should stay where they are rather than be reassigned to cover the younger students.
“We don’t want to pull from the high schools at any time,” Ragsdale said.
The approved amount comes from the district’s fund balance. Vehicles and equipment will be funded separately through its education sales-tax program, according to the reports.
Board members questioned the program
East Cobb News reported that members Becky Sayler and Nichelle Davis sought to delay the decision until the evening session to ask additional questions, including about the program’s effectiveness.
The request to delay failed 3–4. The funding then passed 5–2, with Tre Hutchins joining the board’s Republican majority.
Ragsdale cited an example in which a detection dog alerted to a backpack that had previously held a firearm, although no weapon was present. That account is separate from the unresolved questions members raised about other campus incidents.
Deployment will not be immediate
FOX 5 reports that purchasing the dogs, matching them with handlers and completing training could take a couple of months. No firm start date has been announced.
The new handlers are to join the district’s police force, according to East Cobb News. Hiring and training are the next steps; Thursday’s vote does not mean five new teams are already patrolling middle-school hallways.
Freshness note: FOX 5 published its report September 17 at 11:13 p.m. Eastern. East Cobb News separately covered Thursday’s meeting and vote.
