PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – The first two days of the 2024-25 school year were challenging this week for Broward County Public Schools students who had to wait in line to walk through metal detectors before making it to their classrooms.
Torey Alston, a School Board of Broward County member, said the process improved on the third and fourth day of school. During This Week In South Florida on Sunday, he described what went wrong as a contractor issue.
“There was a miscommunication between district staff and the contractors,” Alston said about the delays during the walk-through process. He did not identify the contractors or the staff.
Alston said security found marijuana in a student’s metal container at one of the schools. There were false alarms with items such as the metal in three-ring binders. Alston said there was a “recalibration” to increase efficiency.
“I am hoping that other districts probably will follow,” Alston said.
After the issues, Jaime Alberti, the BCPS chief of safety and security, submitted his letter of resignation starting Nov. 4 to BCPS Superintendent Howard Hepburn, who later announced Ernie Lozano, the district administrator, would be stepping up to fill the position.
The initial plan with the former BCPS Superintendent Peter B. Licata was to launch the weapons detection program at Charles W. Flanagan and J.P. Taravella high schools, and then to eight more schools before implementing it at all of the high schools in the 2025-16 school year.
There was a demonstration on Aug. 7 at South Plantation High School, and the program rolled out at 38 schools on Monday. The line at Pompano Beach High School was already long at 6:30 a.m. Students were late to class waiting to pass through the metal detectors.
“We sincerely thank our students for their patience,” Hepburn wrote on X. “We are committed to improving this experience and will be making necessary adjustments.”
Students were later instructed to place items such as laptops, umbrellas, musical instruments, and eyeglass cases on a table so security staff could screen these near school administrators. For more information about the BCPS program, visit this page.
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