Broward school metal detectors working but challenges continue, board members say

A week after a chaotic rollout of metal detectors, Broward Schools are still working out the kinks.

Although most students can quickly walk through the metal detectors without them going off, the devices still require a lot of security staff, preventing them from manning other parts of campus, school district officials said during Wednesday’s School Board meeting.

They also said they are still working out plans of what to do when thunderstorms or other inclement weather make it impractical for students to wait outside in line. And one School Board member said she’s hearing concerns from parents who are skeptical that the devices are effective at catching all weapons and recommended that the district work with school resource officers to test them.

The School Board approved a new policy Tuesday related to metal detectors. Students who refuse to walk through metal detectors can be refused entry into class and could face discipline up to expulsion after repeated offenses. Visitors who refuse to walk through them will be escorted off campus, the policy states. School employees, who often arrive on campus early, will not be required to walk through them.

So far, no one has refused to walk through them, said Ernie Lozana, the interim chief for safety and security for Broward schools.

Several School board members have said they see evidence the detectors are working. During an interview Sunday on “This Week in South Florida” on WPLG, board member Torey Alston said the metal detectors identified a metal container with marijuana inside. On Wednesday, Board member Allen Zeman said a vaping device was detected on Tuesday.

“These metal detectors are going to make our school safer, make people vape less and make everybody more aware of security by and large,” Zeman said at Wednesday’s meeting.

The School Board agreed last spring to place walk-through metal detectors in multiple entrances of every high school. After a summer test at two pilot schools that resulted in few issues, the devices had a tumultuous start when students returned to school Aug. 12. Students’ binders, water bottles and eyelash cutters were constantly setting them off, creating gigantic lines and causing many students to miss their first period class.

The second day appeared to be a complete turnaround, after the district adjusted the sensitivity settings, with lines moving quickly and far fewer students getting stopped. But this led to suspicion among some that the settings were too low to catch many weapons, such as small knives.

On Friday, Jaime Alerrti, chief of safety and security, resigned abruptly. Sources told the South Florida Sun Sentinel he was asked by Superintendent Howard Hepburn to step down at least partly due to the metal detector chaos.

Earlier that day, some schools had to discontinue metal detectors due to inclement weather.

“After Friday, we realized we needed to bring consistency to that process so our goal is to continue to screening process as much as possible,” Lozano said. He said he is meeting with principals to come up with a plan for each school, which may including putting the detectors in a covered walkway or a building such as an auditorium, depending on the layout of the school.

Board member Sarah Leonardi said she’s also hearing concerns about the devices.

“I’ve heard from people in the community that they’re worried about the reliability of the way  we are testing and calibrating the equipment,” she said. “I think the way to fix that concern is to involve local law enforcement in the testing of the devices.”

James La Rosa, a safety and security director for the district, said he’s open to that.

“I welcome any law enforcement to deal with our team and work out what testing will look like,” he said.

He said police officers have already walked through metal detector with their pistols “and that will alert” the metal detectors.

Right now the district is using a lot of security staff to monitor the devices, which some students say has led to other parts of school not being adequately staffed in the morning.

“We’re using a lot of staff right now to make it work, but as we become more efficient, we should be able to peel back some of that stuff to use in other places on campus,” Hepburn said.

But he said right now, school district administrators are “out and about” campus to provide supervision. He said the district is also looking at offering supplements for non-security and administrative staff who want to help monitor the metal detectors.