In its first media event since a gun and ammunition were found in a student’s backpack at Preble High School, Green Bay School District leaders said “everything is on the table” when it comes to security upgrades.
Starting Sept. 22, Green Bay students in grades six through 12 will be required to carry clear backpacks if they choose to bring a bag to school. That’s a first step, said Green Bay School District Superintendent Vicki Bayer.
Despite an already-stretched budget, the district said all ideas will be considered by the school board, regardless of cost. The district also encouraged students and families with safety concerns to reach out to online tip lines like Speak Up Speak Out and Crime Stoppers.
The district is planning a community roundtable at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15, at Preble, 2222 Deckner Ave. It’s looking for feedback and suggestions.
On metal detectors and security upgrades
Clear backpacks are the first step when it comes to security. The district is still gathering information, including financial numbers, as it looks at upgrading its safety strategy, but Bayer and Green Bay School Board President James Lyerly both said cost shouldn’t deter an idea from consideration. Bayer said she has heard from Preble parents who said they’d be willing to donate if funding were needed.
“The last couple of days … (have) communicated to us that we need to do more, and that’s what we’re hearing from the community. I applaud the district in taking really timely, decisive action to put a plan in place,” Lyerly said.
Metal detectors have been brought up, Bayer said. Green Bay plans to reach out to other districts in Wisconsin that use metal detectors to see if that strategy might work for the district.
Metal detectors can be effective, but they have to be implemented properly, said Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers. They need solid policy on how they’re used, consistent maintenance and dedicated staff. Metal detectors also require all other doors to stay secured, Canady said.
Weapons detection systems, which look for the shape of a weapon, are another alternative. High school students at Milwaukee Public Schools send their backpacks through a scanner when they arrive.
On entrance upgrades
A portion of Green Bay’s November 2024 referendum funding is dedicated to securing middle and high school entrances, the district said. However, secure secondary school entrances haven’t been discussed since referendum projects were first announced in June 2024, before the referendum passed.
The district plans to upgrade its secondary school entrances in the coming years, and Bayer said that timeline hasn’t changed. It could take awhile, though; Green Bay is still working on projects from its 2022 referendum. The district started with referendum-funded upgrades to elementary schools affected by its consolidation plan, including Chappell Elementary, Doty Elementary and newly built Starr Elementary.
Security measures like entrance upgrades can be difficult and costly to implement. Most schools were designed before publicized incidents like Columbine and Sandy Hook changed school safety standards, so additions like secure entrances can mean changes to the school’s entire floorplan.
Preble has seen two rounds of renovations since June 2024. One round updated bathrooms for ADA compliance and added windows, and the other renovated classrooms and the school’s commons, where the Sept. 10 incident took place.
On clear backpacks
On the evening of Sept. 10, the Green Bay School District sent an email to parents announcing that students who carry a bag to school would have to switch to a clear or colorless bag or backpack. It’s not clear whether the policy will be permanent; Bayer said the district will monitor the change’s effectiveness and talk with students, staff and families, then make adjustments as needed.
“I’m not interested in messing with families and going back and forth with backpack today, then no backpack tomorrow,” Bayer said.
Schools will have processes in place for students who bring more than just a backpack to school, like student athletes or students with musical instruments, Bayer said, but exactly what those processes will look like haven’t been determined yet. She said she pictures opaque duffel bags and instrument cases would be searched when students enter the building and secured until they’re needed.
The district will work with students to get them clear backpacks if needed, Bayer said, and encouraged students who may need a clear backpack to talk to a school counselor or social worker. She thanked the community for its support, saying she’s seen families and local businesses posting that they’ve bought extra clear backpacks for students in need.
Clear backpacks shouldn’t be the only safety measures taken, said Canady, with the National Association of School Resource Officers. Leaning on clear backpacks as a pillar of the district’s safety response wouldn’t be helpful on its own, he said, as students could still disguise or hide weapons. There’s also the potential issue of durability.
“You want to be careful not to lean on that as a school district, to say ‘hey, our school’s safe now, because everyone has clear backpacks,'” Canady said. “Unless you’re able to see everything inside of that clear backpack, you’re kind of defeating the purpose. You’ve got to be willing to search those clear backpacks.”
Schools around the country have mandated clear backpacks in response to threats or cases of gun violence. Several Texas school districts, including Dallas, implemented clear backpack policies after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022. A school district in Flint, Michigan, banned students from carrying backpacks in its schools entirely after a threat was made in 2023.
On other security measures
The district’s Centegix alarm system, which was purchased in 2023 for $1.8 million, was not used during the Sept. 10 incident. The incident didn’t fall into a category that would set off an alarm, Bayer said.
Since the event, there’s been an additional police presence at Preble, and Bayer said staff from the district office have been at the school as well.
Safety concerns have been a topic of conversation in Green Bay schools for years. In March 2018, shortly after a gunman killed 17 people at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the Green Bay School District and police department hosted a school safety discussion at Preble. The need for more cameras and secured entrances at Preble were among the suggestions that came out of that discussion.
On school resource officers
There was a school resource officer at Preble when the initial fight started, Green Bay Police Chief Chris Davis said. Green Bay’s high schools also have an additional officer during the schools’ lunch hour; that officer was on site at the time.
When asked about increasing the number of school resource officers in the district, Davis said that “anything is on the table.” However, short-term challenges like police recruiting issues may make that difficult. The district may rely instead on community partners, Bayer said, although that process isn’t clear yet.
The district currently has 11 school resource officers across its nearly 40 school buildings. SROs are meant to provide security, conduct searches and investigate law violations, but they also provide trainings and serve as a resource for students, staff and parents, according to the school district’s website.
On communication
Information about the incident wasn’t shared publicly for hours after it occurred, raising concerns for some parents. However, crisis communication can be difficult. Some school districts focus on speed, getting out what they know as soon as they know it, while others wait to verify it with police.
Green Bay’s focus was on accuracy, even if that means information comes out later, Bayer said. If the district has to pull back information, she said, there’s a loss of trust from the community. The only thing she said she’d change would be to talk to students earlier.
“We’re very measured in how, and when, and what we communicate to ensure accuracy,” Bayer said. “I’ll leave it at that.”
Contact Green Bay education reporter Nadia Scharf at nscharf@gannett.com or on X at @nadiaascharf.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: ‘Everything is on the table’ for GBAPS safety as district addresses Preble incident
Reporting by Nadia Scharf, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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