CORAL SPRINGS, FLA. (WSVN) - Select schools in Broward County are set to install metal detectors after the school board approved new measures that they hope will detect danger before it gets onto campuses. Some students are not convinced that those measures will change anything.
The Broward County Public Schools Board on Wednesday finalized a plan to install metal detectors at 31 district high schools and six K-12 centers. The initiative is set to kick off with a pilot program this summer at two schools, laying out the groundwork for a broader application that encompass 31 campuses throughout Broward County.
J.P. Taravella High School and Charles W. Flanagan High School are the two schools that will be in the pilot program starting in the summer.
7News on Thursday told students at J.P. Taravella High School about the news.
“There’s some threats going on around the school. They should really do that,” said a student.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” said Alma.
Students were less than thrilled when they were told their school would be installing metal detectors.
“Because, even though like, it’s for safety or whatever, I still think that students should, there should be a comfortable place to learn and like, I feel like us getting metal detectors every day is just not comfortable,” Alma said.
Broward County officials agreed that safety trumps comfort.
“It’s long overdue in my eyes,” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. Peter Licata. “This was one of the tasks I did that I personally wanted to do.”
They hope this latest move will help lay the groundwork for a broader application that encompasses the 31 campuses throughout Broward County.
Since the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School that killed 17 people and left 17 others injured, there has been an emphases on school safety.
Although, metal detectors likely wouldn’t have made a difference in that shooting, since the shooter gained entry to the school through a side door.
“And I feel like it’ll change the dynamic of the the school to be honest,” Alma said.
Public schools in Miami Dade County use a mobile detection unit that searches for metal objects and weapons in schools. All schools in the county are subjected to random inspections.
In a statement, a spokesperson with Miami-Dade County Public Schools wrote:
“While there are no permanent metal detectors, MDCPS has a random metal detection program that is conducted by a Metal Detection Team. All Miami-Dade public schools are subject to a visit by a Metal Detection Team for a random inspection.”M-DCPS
M-DCPS
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