Miami-Dade school board members consider metal detectors for students

MIAMI – After the Broward County School Board approved and implemented metal detectors in some schools, the Miami-Dade County School Board will consider if it’s a security policy the district needs.

Jaime Alberti, the Broward County Public School’s chief safety and security officer, said the metal detectors are part of a process that requires a secondary search of a student’s suspicious backpack.

Mary Blanco, the school board member representing Miami-Dade’s District 7, said they will have a workshop at the end of July and will have to consider if the measure is affordable.

Karla Hernandez-Mats, the United Teachers of Dade president, said teachers would rather see those funds used to raise pay.

“As an A-rated district, our focus should be on providing excellent education that focuses on quality social-emotional learning rather than over-policing students,” Hernandez-Mats said in a statement.

The cost of each metal detector set is about $16,000. BCPS paid about $1.8 million just for the metal detectors and the installation at 31 public schools.