PBC students to return to more armed police

Armed police officers at every school. Tightened doors. And other safety features. That’s what will greet students when they return to Palm Beach County public schools in two weeks.

It’s all part of the school district response to the massacre Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland.

A special School Board workshop gave the public an update on the host of efforts to boost safety across the district’s 186 campuses. The number of school officers is rising to 227, an increase of 75. Nine of them were sworn in Wednesday.

The first day of school in Palm Beach

County is Aug. 13. The state now requires an armed person in every school, and “we’re going to be able to meet that goal,” said Frank Kitzerow, the chief of the School District Police Department.

Florida’s new directive has spurred school districts across Florida to ramp up safety efforts. In Palm Beach County, 50 potential officers are being screened to be added to the school district police force. Officers from 13 cities and the Sheriff ’s Office will join the school police on a contract basis.

“There are many school districts that are not anywhere near where we are at this point,” said Chuck Shaw, chairman of the School Board.

School Board member Karen Brill said, “Thank you, thank you. I’m going to sleep better tonight.”

Other districts have employed other solutions. Broward County says 55 armed security personnel, or guardians, will be needed to comply with the new law — which means armed employees who have at least two years’ military or law enforcement experience.

Miami-Dade County schools plan to have an armed police officer at every school when classes start there Aug. 20. That county has committed more than 100 of its officers to the effort, and district hopes to add more officers from cities.

Kitzerow, the longtime Jupiter police chief who just joined the school district in June, said staffing has been the biggest priority. He declined to estimate how much the added personnel will cost Palm Beach County schools. Other efforts will mean:

■ Creating a new brochure for parents about the new school safety measures they will encounter and what they can do.

■ Training school staff to respond to emergencies.

■ Training staff to more easily spot troubled youth and administer “first aid” in traumatic and troubling situations.

A host of projects to enhance building security were completed over the summer and others are in the works, Kitzerow said.