CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After several school shootings last year, including in Parkland, Florida, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is making student safety a top priority.
Right now, all schools in CMS have cameras inside and outside the building, but district leaders are doing more to keep the district's nearly 150,000 students safe.
There's a new CMS police chief leading those efforts.
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Chief Lisa Mangum told Channel 9 every school will go through an "active survival training" to prepare for any possible threats.
To prevent any violence by students, the district is investing in mental health by adding 10 more school psychologists, 33 elementary counselors and 17 social workers.
Physical improvements at schools include requiring every visitor to check in and out with an ID, upgrading existing door locks, camera systems and motion detectors.
“Every day we're looking for new challenges to improve our safety plans. We're constantly evaluating, and if needed, revising our safety plans," Mangum said.
The CMS police department is also adding five new officers, bringing staffing to 22.
School resource officers are at all high schools, middle schools and K-8 schools. Elementary schools have officers assigned to areas patrolled daily.
"It's a matter of evaluating our current safety plan and if we feel we need to add more equipment, more people, then that's what we're going to do," Mangum said.
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