Feb. 22, 2026 6:45p
(WGTD)---Kenosha Unified School Superintendent Jeff Weiss is recommending the purchase of a type of metal detector that’s half the cost of what was available just a few years ago.
The drumbeat for the installation of weapon detection systems at the entrances of the district’s high schools has grown stronger since the occurrence of several incidents in recent days.
The school board is expected to consider Weiss' recommendation Tuesday night.
He's recommending that the district use $475,000 in reserve funds to buy 18 passive detection systems and 15 hand-held wands.
According to school board documents, each lane of the walk-through system can screen 300 students every 15 minutes.
The systems would be installed at Bradford, Tremper, Indian Trail, Lakeview, Hillcrest and Harborside/Reuther.
Additional discussions and dollars would be needed before such systems could be installed in the district’s middle schools.
Last Friday, administrators traveled to Hamilton High School in Milwaukee—a location that already has the type of system Kenosha Unified is considering.
The cost of purchasing the hardware is nearly half of what other companies were charging for other systems a few years ago—and there’s no annual subscription fee.
In an email sent to parents last week, Weiss acknowledged that there’s been a recent uptick in threats and bad behavior. He encouraged parents and students to keep reporting any threats they might pick up on. Weiss said every threat is taken seriously—even those made in jest or in anger. The investigation, he says, may include interviews and home visits.
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