RICHMOND, Va. -- As students left L.C. Bird High School in Chesterfield on Wednesday afternoon, Clay Irvin waited to pick up his 10th grader.
Irvin told CBS 6 he wanted to keep his student at home that Wednesday, after the school sent out a message about a student bringing a gun onto school property Tuesday.
"This is the third incident this year. I don't know how they're getting through the doors with them. But Bird needs to step their game up a little bit," Irvin said.
Chesterfield Police said a 17-year-old boy notified administrators at the high school that another student on the grounds had a firearm. They searched, and no gun was found. When administrators spoke with the 17-year-old, who originally notified administrators of a potential threat, they found a loaded handgun in his backpack.
The student, charged with possession of a firearm on school grounds, is now in a detention center, facing the possibility of additional charges.
RELATED: Student found outside L.C. Bird High School with gun, magazine
In October, a student was found with a gun and a magazine in the bus loop area about 15 minutes after dismissal. A month prior, a loaded magazine was found at the high school.
When asked what he'd like from school leaders, Irvin responded with this: "Pay closer attention, step up your game."
In the district superintendent's proposed FY 2024 budget, $165,000 would go toward an additional Safety and Security Manager to provide more security coverage throughout the district.
"It's just giving our safety coordinator more resources available to him, other projects that we're looking at is increasing or improving our entryways and vestibules into our schools," said School Board Chair Ann Coker. "That's another project that's not in the budget, but that is something that our superintendent has made a priority as well."
The proposed budget also allocates more than $1.1 million in funding for counselor support, another way parents and educators say the district could keep kids safe in and out of school.
Chesterfield's school board is expected to approve the budget on Feb. 23.
Irvin said, however, there's only so much a school district can do.
"If it's going to continue happening like this, there should be some kind of screening," Irvin said. "But then again, it kind of starts at home. If you're taking care of stuff at home, your kids shouldn't be able to get ahold of a firearm and bring it to school anyway, if you're doing the proper thing with it."
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