Nearly 8,800 middle school students in Salem and Keizer will soon have to pass through weapon detectors before going to class.

Salem-Keizer School District leaders announced Thursday that they will roll out security screenings at the district’s 12 middle schools over the course of this school year.

The decision stemmed from a “disturbing trend” of younger and younger children facing weapons-related charges in the Marion County juvenile system, said Chris Baldridge, the district’s security director, during a Thursday morning press conference.

“We have a good pulse about what’s happening within our schools and what’s happening within our community,” he said. The juvenile data “is really kind of a driving factor for us. We don’t want weapons in our schools.”

Last school year, Salem-Keizer

See Full Page