PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Pinellas County Schools is stepping up its efforts when it comes to gun safety. Starting April 7, the school district are implementing a new pilot program exploring the latest technology for detecting weapons.
The pilot program will take place in Palm Harbor University High School and Gibbs High School.
WATCH: Pinellas County Schools' weapons detection pilot program begins
Sean Jowell, Pinellas County Schools Director of Safety and Security, told Tampa Bay 28 reporter Robert Boyd that it’s important to make their schools as safe as possible while maintaining a welcoming learning environment.
"The last thing I want, the last thing our team wants, the superintendent, the board, is to make it feel like a prison, we don’t want that," said Jowell. "They are still coming through the checkpoint they’ve been coming through all year, and they are simply going though these two little statues for this security alert system that is not intrusive, normal pace."
The program will be evaluating two different systems, called Evolv and Opengate, which have already been used in neighboring Manatee and Sarasota school districts.
"The technology is better, it’s more efficient, less obtrusive, so speaking with the superintendent and the school board, the recommendation was to conduct a pilot to see if it does or does not implement and integrate well," explained Jowell.
The weapons detection systems will be placed at specific school entrances monitoring students and guests during morning arrivals and large events.
"If something does alert to it we’re going to do a bag check just like we normally do, we are allowed to do back checks on our campuses," said Jowell.
The school district says the pilot program will last until the end of the school year at which time they will evaluate what they learned, including feedback from everyone involved.
"There will be surveys going out to our staff, our students, to see how well they were represented, how well they worked, and from there we’ll take it to the school board and see what our next steps may be," said Jowell.
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