LA PLATA, Md. — Weeks after loaded firearms were recovered on back-to-back days at St. Charles High School, Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) Superintendent Maria V. Navarro returned to county leaders Tuesday with a message: recent safety measures cannot be the end of the response.
Seeking what she described as urgent, one-time support outside the normal budget cycle, Navarro asked commissioners to back a $430,000 emergency school safety request aimed at expanding weapons-detection technology, increasing interior gun-detection capabilities, and launching community-based prevention efforts.
The Charles County Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday, May 19, 2026, to authorize Commissioner President Reuben Collins to sign and submit a Fiscal Year 2027 nonrecurring cost exclusion request to the Maryland State Department of Education — the first administrative step required before any funding could move forward.
Tuesday’s action only authorized submission of the request to MSDE for review. If approved by the state, commissioners and the Board of Education would return later to determine whether and how to fund the initiatives.
Presenting alongside Navarro were Jacob Dyer, director of the Department of Fiscal and Administrative Services; Karen Acton, chief financial officer for CCPS; and Jason Stoddard, director of school safety and security.
What Prompted The Emergency Request
In a May 8 letter to commissioners, Navarro formally requested $430,000 in emergency one-time funding to support both short- and long-term school safety and security efforts. She described the request as separate from the current operating budget, FY 2027 budget request and maintenance of effort funding.
The request followed two firearms recovered on consecutive days at St. Charles High School and a broader spike in students bringing weapons, including handguns, to CCPS schools in recent weeks. Navarro said the incidents created an immediate need to implement additional proactive safety measures and to reassure students, parents and staff that schools remain safe places to learn and work.
Mobile Weapons Detection Program: $300,000
The largest portion of the request — $300,000 — would establish a mobile weapons detection program using portable, walk-through style systems designed to move between school entry points, events and facilities as needed.
According to the exclusion request, the proposal includes portable walk-through weapons detection systems, secondary search equipment, transportation and deployment support, and vehicles to move equipment between locations.
Navarro described the proposal during a May 6 virtual town hall hosted by Charles County Public Schools, explaining that the district is intentionally moving beyond what many people think of as traditional metal detectors.
“Traditional metal detectors can still allow weapons into facilities. What we are proposing are portable weapon-detection systems that can rotate between schools and entry points,” Navarro said. “That creates unpredictability. It allows us to respond to incidents across grade levels — because we’ve seen these incidents are not limited to just high schools.”
To operate the program, CCPS estimated it would require eight additional full-time positions at an annual cost of approximately $815,000. Navarro said those staffing costs would be absorbed within the district’s existing operating budget and are not included in the emergency funding request.
Interior Gun Detection Expansion: $80,000
Another $80,000 would expand CCPS’s existing gun detection technology to interior cameras.
CCPS currently operates the Omnilert gun detection program across all 44 schools and centers for exterior camera coverage and would increase licenses to extend capabilities inside school buildings, providing immediate alerts when visible firearms are detected.
The district stated it is already installing remaining interior camera licenses at St. Charles High School and plans to prioritize secondary school buildings next.
Community And Student Pilot Programming: $50,000
The remaining $50,000 would support community and student pilot programming focused on violence prevention and engagement.
In her May 8 letter, Navarro said CCPS hopes to work with community members and experts with lived experience in gun violence prevention to explore programming that could eventually be replicated across school communities.
During discussion, Commissioner BJ Bowling expressed support for the equipment-related portions of the request but said he wanted additional conversation around the pilot funding and involvement from additional partners, including the Charles County Sheriff’s Office and State’s Attorney’s Office, before future funding decisions are made.
Navarro emphasized that the request represents seed funding intended to launch discussion and test approaches rather than establish a final model.
She added that meaningful progress will require collaboration across agencies and community groups and noted she is already working with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office on community engagement and broader public education efforts.
Board Of Education Previewed The Request The Night Before
The night before Tuesday’s vote, Navarro presented the safety upgrades to the Charles County Board of Education during its May 18 meeting, where board members focused on long-term sustainability and whether one-time equipment purchases would create future operating costs.
Navarro and Chief Financial Officer Karen Acton told board members the district had already planned for staffing needs associated with the program and estimated the equipment would have a useful life of approximately five years. They said future software and technology upgrades would be incorporated into existing annual Maryland School Safety Council funding rather than requiring continued emergency funding.
Navarro said staff supporting the program would rotate throughout the district rather than remain assigned to a single location, allowing equipment deployment and additional presence where needed.
Navarro acknowledged that no single investment can eliminate risk.
“There is not a single thing that we can put in place that guarantees safety in every single one of our facilities,” she told board members.
Navarro emphasized that technology represents only one layer of a broader approach.
“Engagement, education and support — the school system cannot do it alone,” she said.
Grants, Partnerships And What Comes Next
Potential grant funding — including opportunities through the Department of Justice — was raised as an avenue worth pursuing, with commissioners noting prior conversations around federal grants had stalled due to timing challenges but that those opportunities remain available.
Commissioner Amanda Stewart suggested exploring broader grant-writing collaboration involving county staff, school officials and potentially community members with grant-writing experience.
Navarro said she intends to present a broader update to the Board of Education in August outlining milestones, additional resources and next steps and offered to share that update with commissioners as well.
Watch the full Tuesday, May 19, 2026, Charles County Board of County Commissioners meeting on CCGTV.
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