Chicago schools to boost security

Sep 2, 2003 12:00 PM

One Chicago public school student dies from gunfire every two weeks on average, school officials reported last week as they announced plans to add X-ray machines and other security measures at city high schools.

A security audit at about half of the high schools during the last school year discovered a variety of safety deficiencies, including the fact that not all of the 44 high schools surveyed reported all the violent or dangerous incidents that occurred on their campuses, The Chicago Tribune reports.

Promising that the deficiencies discovered by the audit are already being corrected, schools chief Arne Duncan pledged a $500,000 increase in security spending in the coming school year. The spending includes buying 36 more X-ray machines to scan student backpacks and book bags, CCTV and training for school staff.

Chicago Public Schools spends $53 million annually on security. The money pays for 1,700 security employees and metal detectors in every high school.

Officials said 46 high schools now have the X-ray machines. All high schools have metal detectors, but not all schools use them every day on every student or visitor. Some large schools perform only random checks.

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