PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Superintendent Mike Burke said Wednesday 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 district high schools, with each campus having three machines.
In all, there are 24 public high schools in the county, not including charter schools.
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"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 said he wants to purchase 63 new metal detectors by the end of the school year, bringing the total number of metal detectors in Palm Beach County schools to 75.
"Over the course of the school year, we'll be bringing high schools online as we can get people trained and acclimated to the system," Burke said. "We've learned you have to adapt to each campus to make sure that, logistically, kids can get to school on time."
Burke said the pilot program found a student can pass through a machine in half a second, and the devices have been a deterrent for students bringing anything to campus that shouldn't be there.
"The students had to learn how to get through the machines without setting them off, and we had to learn what kind of things might set them off accidentally, and that type of thing," said Chief Sarah Mooney of the School District of Palm Beach County's Police Department.
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"If you had to put a letter grade on the safety and security in Palm Beach County Schools, what letter would you give it?" WPTV reporter Joel Lopez asked Mooney.
"I give us a B+, because I think we're always achieving more," Mooney answered.
During Wednesday's school board meeting, the board went over its safety and security assessment.
The district used the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool to complete 219 assessments at 176 district-operated schools and 43 charter schools.
Police made recommendations in four areas:
- Safety and security personnel
- Security enhancements area
- Technology enhancements area
- Procedure enhancements
"Anytime you get another chance to add another layer or expand something that we're already doing, I think we're doing really well with that," Mooney said.
The chief said they're having staffing issues and need more officers.
"We have been increasing in our capacity there, but we also partner with our local agencies to make sure that we're never uncovered on a campus and that we have enough bodies to make sure we have safety and security on all of our campuses," Mooney said.
Mooney added the district has more than one officer on every school campus, but at a minimum, there's always going to be at least one, as is required by state law.
Mooney 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.
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 said.
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.
"You want to be 110%, right? We're just not at 110%, but we're doing pretty darn good," Mooney said.