Phillip Powell
The Oglethorpe County Board of Education approved the purchase of a weapons detection system on Tuesday as district leaders look to enhance school safety ahead of the 2026-27 school year.
Incoming Superintendent Phillip Powell recommended the purchase of the Athena Security Inc. Weapons Detection System during the work session on June 16.
The system costs $120,000 and includes two systems and four years of service, maintenance and software updates from the company.
It will be funded through a combination of grant money and state school safety funds. Powell said the district expects the systems to be operational by the beginning of the school year.
Evolv Technology was the other finalist. Its cost was $158,000, Powell said.
Athena Security’s Apollo 500 walk-through weapons detectors are portable and can be moved between campuses and events. The detectors require an operator who is trained to monitor a screen as individuals pass through.
The detectors use electromagnetic technology to identify potential threats as individuals pass through the screening area. They are designed to detect firearms, knives and other weapons.
Rather than screening students daily and slowing entry, Powell said the district plans to place the detectors at unannounced times, primarily at Oglethorpe County middle and high schools.
Superintendent Beverley Levine, who is retiring this month, said the district has planned for weapons detection technology for years. She added she included weapons detection in a grant application two years ago because the anticipated state requirements for these systems would be coming soon.
“Two years ago, Paul (Thiel) and I wrote this grant and we wrote in it weapons detection because we kept hearing it's coming,” Levine said.
Legislation requiring schools to install detection systems hasn’t been passed.
“This grant runs out at the end of June and there is no amendment for it,” Levine said. “So we’re sitting with $48,000 there that must be purchased for weapons detection or else we lose it.”