JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County students heading back to school may soon be greeted by an extra level of security.
The Duval County School Board agreed Tuesday to buy new metal detectors for nearly two dozen of the county's high schools. The new screening devices will cost about $7 million total, but the cost will be spread over four years. The measure passed unanimously.
"The world we live in right now, we need to take every precaution that we can," said School Board Chairman Darryl Willie.
Duval County Public Schools started taking those precautions back in 2018, when the district bought metal detectors for all the high schools.
Parents may see those detectors often off to the side - they aren't used every day because of the time it takes to empty pockets and staff needed for bag checks.
"We have to do the backpacks, lunchboxes, as well as wanding their bodies," said Duval Schools Police Chief Greg Burton.
They only use them for football games or major events like graduations.
However, safety threats can come up any day - the district's threat analysis team had 319 potential threats last school year alone.
Which is why they decided to invest in detectors that can be up every day.
"It draws a box around the area, so we'll be able to go directly to that area," said Burton.
The new, Evolv detectors are the same ones used at Disney and the Florida Theatre.
The district will pay $7 million for 80-85 detectors at the 23 high schools in the district.
They can screen 4,000 people per hour without ever having to stop, empty pockets and take off bags.
"We've then extended the instructional time to get through first period," said Burton.
School officials say the new metal detectors will reduce false alarms by between 40 and 10 percent.
Chief of School Police Greg Burton says many schools also need additional fences, cameras and lights -- security measures that are essential if less flashy than metal detectors.
Those will be implemented over the next few years using the half cent sales tax the district has collected.