Superintendent Mike Burke announced Wednesday that metal detectors are coming to all Palm Beach County high schools.
The School District of Palm Beach County started the school year by launching a pilot program with metal detectors at four high schools -- Seminole Ridge Community High School, Palm Beach Lakes High School, Palm Beach Gardens High School and John I. Leonard High School -- with each campus having three machines.
There are 24 public high schools in Palm Beach County, not including charter schools.
"We've learned the devices are working very well," Burke said. "It is a deterrent to bringing anything on campus that shouldn't be there. The feedback from our principals has been great, and also our students."
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Burke added that he wants to purchase 63 new metal detectors by the end of the school year, making it a total of 75 metal detectors county-wide.
According to Burke, a student can pass through a metal detector in half a second, and the devices have actually served as a deterrent for students bringing anything to campus they shouldn't be.
During Wednesday's school board meeting, the board went over its safety and security assessment.
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The district used the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool to complete 219 assessments at 176 district-operated schools and 43 charter schools.
Police then made recommendations in four areas:
- Security enhancements area
- Safety and security personnel
- Procedure enhancements
- Technology enhancements area
Chief Sarah Mooney of the School District of Palm Beach County's Police Department said visibility has improved on school campuses and they have been able to get 60 additional patrol cars on campuses and are enhancing the number of cameras, card reader access, locking mechanisms, and perimeter fencing.
Mooney added the district has more than one officer on every school campus, even though at least one is required by state law.
The district is also pushing to stay updated on the latest technology.
"I think our cameras are the thing that we're working on the hardest right now to make sure that it's consistent, because we have analog systems in conjunction with some of our digital systems. So we're trying to make sure we have the same platform on every campus," Mooney told WPTV.
Through the safety and security assessment, school police recommended continuing funding for improving alarms, video, and radio technology, as well as providing continuous training on the latest policies.
