BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Brevard County middle school students will have to pass through metal detectors to enter their buildings next year.
The school board voted overwhelmingly to install the devices in middle schools throughout the county.
“We see a lot of students who are bringing in things that we need to capture for safety,” said Matthew Susin, Board Chairman for Brevard County Schools.
The district has 13 middle schools that will be outfitted with the devices. High schools in the county already have metal detectors, which have been a success, Susin said.
“The high school program has been absolutely amazing,” he said. “Not only has it been applauded by our parents, but it’s also caught a lot of different things.”
The district placed the detectors in high schools nearly three years ago. At the time, leaders opted not to expand the program to middle schools to ensure a smooth rollout.
“We wanted to see how that worked, and then we were going to roll them out into the middle schools,” Susin said.
The metal detectors are expected to cost the district several million dollars.
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