Lake Braddock Staff: Teachers Protest Mandatory Gate Duties
Around 18 educators staged a walk-in protest on Nov. 5, awaiting a Nov. 12 school board ruling on a union grievance regarding weapons detection staffing.
By Lauren Foster ·
About 18 teachers at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke participated in a walk-in protest on Nov. 5 to oppose mandatory weapons detection duties. The demonstration occurred while the Fairfax County School Board reviews a formal grievance filed by local unions against the policy.
Staff members gathered at 7:20 a.m. wearing union t-shirts. They chanted the phrase "let us teach" before entering the building at 7:30 a.m., the start of their contract hour. Bill McCabe, an English teacher and union steward, said the faculty chose this peaceful method to demonstrate unity against the administration's requirement that teachers perform weapons duty throughout the day.
The school board is scheduled to vote on the grievance on Nov. 12. The grievance was filed by the Fairfax Education Unions, a partnership between the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers and the Fairfax Education Association. A public hearing on the issue took place on Sept. 23, and an arbitrator has already provided a recommendation to the board.
The dispute centers on staffing for OpenGate weapons detection systems. Fairfax County Public Schools permanently installed these systems in every middle and high school in the fall of 2025. The district assigns school-based staff and security personnel to manage the devices. The union argues that staffing is inconsistent across the district, with some schools using volunteers and others paying stipends for the role.
At Lake Braddock, the duty is mandatory and rotates from bell to bell. McCabe stated that educators feel a "big squeeze" because handling weapons detection, in addition to monitoring hallways and bathrooms, takes away from their primary teaching responsibilities. The union position is that trained personnel should staff these detection systems.
Namita Waghray, a representative for the unions, said members are continuing to let the board know they do not support the policy. The union is circulating a petition that has collected approximately 3,300 signatures as of Nov. 5. Fairfax County Public Schools has not yet commented on the specific protest, though its communications office previously said it would not issue statements until the grievance process is complete.
Union members plan to attend the Nov. 12 board meeting in greater numbers than in previous sessions. McCabe noted that the school board must consider this issue ahead of elections next November, as thousands of community voters are paying attention to the outcome.
