After students faced delays entering Sayreville War Memorial High School, district officials adjusted security procedures and negotiated three additional bag scanners at no cost for the school year.

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SAYREVILLE, NJ — Long lines at Sayreville War Memorial High School during the first days of the school year prompted district officials to rethink how students pass through security checkpoints.

Now, the Sayreville Board of Education has approved a $51,000 purchase of three bag scanners, while administrators have negotiated an agreement to obtain three additional units at no cost for the current school year.

The changes were discussed during the board’s Sept. 22 meeting, when Superintendent Dr. Richard Labbe explained how the district is working to maintain security while reducing the time students spend waiting to enter school.

Why Were Students Waiting In Long Lines?

The district began the 2026-27 school year using electronic bag scanners to screen students entering school buildings.

However, the equipment did not process students as quickly as administrators had expected, resulting in lines outside Sayreville War Memorial High School.

“First couple days of school, we had some lines at the high school,” Labbe told board members.

He said the district had relied on assurances from the equipment vendor that the scanners could handle the number of students arriving each morning.

“They pretty much promised us that that scanner would work with the volume of students coming in,” Labbe said.

The problem prompted Assistant Superintendent Eric Glock-Molloy to work with the vendor on a solution.

District Negotiates Three Free Scanners

The board approved spending $51,000 on three TrueScan bag scanners from MRA International through a cooperative purchasing agreement.

Separately, Glock-Molloy negotiated an arrangement allowing the district to use three additional scanners without paying for them during the current school year.

Two of those additional scanners are designated for the high school, with the third going to Sayreville Middle School.

If the district decides the additional equipment is worth keeping, it can purchase the units at one-third of their regular cost. Otherwise, the scanners can be returned at the end of the school year without a financial penalty.

“He actually negotiated these three additional scanners … for free,” Labbe said. “And if we decide to buy them at the end of the year, we’re going to buy them for a third of the cost of the actual scanners.”

The additional units were expected to arrive Oct. 1 and 2.

How Are Schools Handling Security Checks Now?

Rather than wait for the additional equipment, administrators adjusted the entry process by combining electronic scanning with manual bag inspections.

Labbe said the hybrid approach has already reduced the delays students experienced at the beginning of the school year.

“What we’ve decided to do is a hybrid right now, and that has pretty much solved all the problems in terms of getting kids in in a timely manner,” he said.

The approach allows security personnel to continue checking students’ belongings while using more than one method to move students through the entrances.

What Happens To Oversized Bags?

Board member Eileen Pabon asked whether students carrying larger bags, including athletic equipment, would still have their belongings inspected if those items could not fit through the scanners.

“I just want to clarify, just because you said, ‘Oh, the big bags won’t make it through that thing,’ they’ll still be physically checking,” Pabon said.

Labbe confirmed that security personnel would continue manually inspecting oversized bags.

Where Will The Additional Scanners Go?

Once the additional equipment is installed, the district’s plan calls for two scanners at each high school entrance and three scanners at Sayreville Middle School.

Board member Lucy Bloom also raised a concern about where the scanners would be placed inside the buildings.

“Once we get all the new scanners in place, can you please move them away from in front of the Hall of Fame plaques into that gap that we have?” Bloom asked.

Labbe explained that equipment placement must comply with fire safety requirements, particularly rules governing exits and walkways.

“Our primary concern is we’ve been told by the Fire Marshal we cannot block the egress,” he said.

Egress refers to the pathways people use to exit a building, including during emergencies.

The discussion highlighted another consideration for the district as it expands its security screening equipment: finding locations that accommodate students while keeping exits accessible.

What’s Next For The District?

The additional scanners are being provided for the 2026-27 school year, giving administrators an opportunity to evaluate whether the equipment improves student arrival procedures.

The district will then have the option of returning the three extra units or purchasing them at the negotiated discount.

For now, officials say the combination of electronic scanners and manual inspections has helped address the long lines that greeted students at the beginning of September.

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