HAZLETON - Every person who attended this week's Hazleton Area school board committee meetings had to walk through a metal detector to get there.
So did every board member and administrator at the meeting.
One of the district's 11 new walk-through metal detectors was installed at the public entrance to the district administration building this week. Every person entering the building was required to pass through the detector while a district security guard monitored the equipment.
In addition to walking through the free-standing doorway-like detector, people entering the building were asked to place handbags and satchels on a table adjacent to the detector where the guard checked their contents.
A loud beep sounded if any person walking through the detector was carrying metal.
Those who set off the alarm were asked to step aside and wait while the guard waved a hand-held metal detector up and down their bodies.
District Superintendent Francis X. Antonelli and Business Manager Tony Ryba stood by in the lobby, observing residents and board members enter the building, encounter the guard and walk through the detector.
"I thought it went well. I don't really foresee any problems," Antonelli said.
A woman wearing a long silver necklace and several bracelets on her wrist entered the building and passed through the metal detector. A loud, shrill alarm rang out.
"It's her bling," Antonelli said.
A wave of the security guard's hand-held metal detector around the woman's body confirmed Antonelli's suspicion - it was her jewelry that set the alarm off.
Wednesday's meeting was the public's first exposure to the metal detectors, the first of which was put in place at the administration building. Antonelli said all faculty, staff, administrators, students and visitors must pass through the new security system.
Those who offered comment said any inconvenience is minor in exchange for increased security, Antonelli said.
The district purchased 11 metal detectors to augment two units it already owned after an April incident in which a student in the Ninth Grade Center brought bullets to school. A cleaning person found the bullets hidden in a trash can in a student lavatory.
At that time, the district had two portable walk-through metal detectors that were moved from building to building.
After the incident, the board purchased additional units to be permanently installed at the entrance to the higher-grade buildings.
Antonelli said six detectors will be installed at the high school, two at the Career Center and two at the Ninth Grade Center, in addition to the one at the administration building. Once the units are installed, Antonelli said they will be used on a daily basis.
The remaining two portable units will be rotated among the elementary buildings as needed.
While the trial run went without a hitch at the administration building Wednesday, the next test will come when hundreds of students arrive at the three high school facilities for the start of the new school year in August. Antonelli said he expects a smooth transition after students get accustomed to the security requirement.
The superintendent said district security supervisor James Henry observed similar units in use at a high school campus in the Pittsburgh area.
"After the first week or so, the kids know what to do to make it go quickly and smoothly. If they're wearing a belt with a large metal buckle, they take it off. If they have a cellphone in their pocket, they take it out," Antonelli said.
All units will be installed before Aug. 27, which is an in-service day for staff. The first day of school for students is Aug. 30.