Back to school? Brace for long lines

Improved security may cause delays

Palm Beach County’s 179 schools are almost ready for classes to start next week. That means a heavier police presence, more barriers to entry, and — more than likely — longer-than-normal car-pool lines, all to meet many of the statewide mandates for stronger security.

Get ready for a heavy police presence, lots of barriers to entry and longer-than-usual carpool lines. The first day of school in Palm Beach County next week will be the first time the public sees many of the changes made to schools since the Parkland massacre on Feb. 14.

At a news conference on Monday, school district officials detailed some of the alterations made over the summer to prevent future tragedies. Each of the 179 schools in the district will have its own police officer, and some will have several, according to Wanda Paul, the Palm Beach County School District’s chief operating offi-cer

Visitors will have to show their drivers’ licenses to security cameras before they can enter school offices. And parking lots have been redesigned to limit access to strangers; thus the expected carpool congestion.

“Some changes will be obvious, and some will be subtle,” Paul parents said. may Some not enhancements notice: new fences, security cameras, door locks and alarms.

The district is working to hire 75 new officers to comply

with new safety laws; 50 are in the process of being screened, said Frank Kitzerow, school district police chief. In the meantime, sheriff’s deputies and city police officers will cover schools that lack a school district officer.

The district still has teacher vacancies. Although the staff has hired 1,062 new recruits for its 12,900-teacher force, schools still need 246 more. This number is similar to the amount needed before the start of school in previous years, said Gonzalo LaCava, chief human resources officer. Especially needed: elementary education, special education and science.

Substitutes and school staffers will lead the classrooms until the teachers are hired, LaCava said.

The district has purchased 157 new buses with money from a penny sales tax voters approved in 2016.

The buses have air conditioning, video cameras and improved wheelchair capacity.

On Wednesday, all the school district’s buses will test their routes for next year, 655 in all.