School plans to beef up security

Associated Press

HAMILTON

An Ohio school district says it’s stepping up security just days after a sheriff took out a billboard ad blasting school safety.

Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones says he met with Hamilton City School District officials Wednesday, and they have agreed to arm school staff and use metal detectors on students in the upcoming school year.

Jones previously posted billboard ads claiming the school board isn’t transparent and doesn’t “talk to the public.”

He told the Journal-News after the meeting that the new security measures will make Hamilton schools “the safest district in the region.”

Superintendent Larry Knapp says staffers will have to go through training to carry a firearm, and hand-held metal detectors will be used randomly during school.

The cost of the safety upgrades has not been released.