Fewer metal detector delays at Broward high schools on 2nd day of new school year
PEMBROKE PINES - After a rough start at Broward high schools on Monday, the first day of the new school year, things went more smoothly on Tuesday.
There were no reports like those on Monday of long, slow-moving lines outside of schools as students waited to clear the district's newly implemented metal detectors.
At West Broward High School in Pembroke Pines, the line had draped down the side of the school. Students said it was hot and they were frustrated. Some said it took nearly an hour and a half to clear the line.
On Tuesday, it was markedly different. Some students at West Broward High in Pembroke Pines said they learned a lesson from Monday and knew what to expect.
"I know it's for the safety of the school that we need to have the metal detectors but I'd rather not wait 40 minutes in the hot sun every day. It's very inconvenient, which is why my parents dropped me off way earlier today," said West Broward High freshman Tony Hernandez.
He said he showed up an hour before the first bell on Tuesday after a chaotic start to the first day.
"We got to the school about 15 minutes late because of the car traffic, but the line for the metal detector was about 40-50 minutes, about an hour in the sun," Hernandez said.
"From afar I could see how big the line was from the metal detector and I had to wait from 7:08 a.m. to 7:50 a.m. to get in my class. It was just insane," West Broward High sophomore Isabella Mejia said about the line on Monday.
Superintendent Howard Hepburn posted a video on X Tuesday from Cypress Bay High School, the largest high school in the district.
"From my team that is spread out all over the district they are reporting no issues at other schools," he said.
After the chaos on Monday, Hepburn predicted an ease in the frustration and said the district would work to iron out the first-day kinks. He said they would also add more metal detectors at large schools with the longest lines to help move the process along. To make the screening process smoother and move the lines along, students are urged to remove metal items — like laptops, cellphones and binders with a metal spine — from their backpacks before they get to the screening.