PEMBROKE PINES – After a rough start at Broward high schools on Monday, the first day of the new day of the new 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 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.
Superintendent Howard Hepburn said as the days go by the process of screening the students would become more efficient and the lines would shrink. He said they would also add metal detectors at large schools with the longest lines to help move the process along.
On Tuesday, it was markedly different. No long lines were reported outside of schools. Some students at West Broward High in Pembroke Pines said they learned a lesson from Monday and knew what to expect.
“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,” said West Broward High freshman Tony Hernandez.
Some even got to the school early in hopes of getting through the screening faster.
“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,” said West Broward High sophomore Isabella Mejia.
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.
