YORK, Pa. — The School District of the City of York says they’re looking to purchase a detection dog to be part of the solution amid rising violence in the city.
"The conversation started around: We don’t want to lose our babies," said the York City School District Superintendent Andrea Berry.
The School District of the city of York is looking to purchase a certified detection dog.
“He could detect anything from smells from missing children, he can do detection based on gun powder residue, or bomb residue," said Berry.
The dog will be used to investigate tips and search hotspots for the most part outside of the school.
“We’re not searching kids with this dog, and we’re not utilizing this dog as a fear tactic for kids," said Berry.
They say there have been multiple shootings around the schools as well as in the community that involved youth that are either alumni or current students.
“We feel that any student loss, is a student too many," said Berry.
The district has asked parents to fill out a survey to share their input about the certified detection dog.
“What we want to know how they feel about the innovative method of trying to keep the school safe," said Berry
Some parents of kids who attend the school district say when they first about this they felt intimidated.
“I just want to know what are the statistics in the cause behind doing this," said Luz Marrero.
They say they want to hear more about this initiative and what the district has to say.
The district will be holding a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the results of the survey, hear from parents and vote on whether to get the detection dog or not.