KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Knox County Schools has plans to invest more than $70 million to enhance campus security.

The district started investing in multiple safety measures across its schools back in 2021.

“We have to be proactive. The days where I was a young kid and the campus was very much open; that was not even a thought or a concern. We have to evolve with the times and concerns or conditions that might be present,” KCS Chief of School Safety Carlo Granillo said.

Each Knox County school operates under a unique safety plan tailored to its specific infrastructure and layout, according to Dr. Garfield Adams, assistant superintendent of operations.

“Each one of our schools have a very unique safety plan, and just think of some of our infrastructure at some of our schools. We have multiple sites on the schools and some the footprint is much smaller,” Adams said.

The district plans to spend more than $4 million on physical security enhancements, including additional fencing, bollards and window blasting films designed to protect against explosions or impacts.

Families and students can now report threats or concerns directly from their phones through a new reporting system called Text-A-Tip.

“All of those added layers help ensure for a safer environment. People traveling to the schools, coming back and forth as a deterrent or something overt that people say that this site is safe,” Granillo said.

Knox County Schools currently has more than 120 armed officers stationed in schools to deter threats and prevent weapons from entering campuses.

District data shows weapons discoveries have remained relatively low over the past three years. Knox County Schools found fewer than 10 guns per year during this period, though officials did not provide exact numbers.

The district found 48 other weapons two years ago and 49 last year. So far this year, officials have discovered nine other weapons.

“As a parent of kids who went through public school, you can never get me information quick enough. I’m going to be dad no matter what. We get that. I understand that, but we want to build that confidence in our community that they can feel good in their school safety measures, in their school safety and public safety as a whole,” Granillo said.

The district plans to have a pilot program for a weapons detection system soon.

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