Leon County students return to the classroom on Monday.
At a school safety news conference on Thursday, Sheriff Walt McNeil encouraged residents to be ready for school buses and additional traffic.
“We are going to be in those same school zones. You’ll see an increased number of deputies and police officers trying to make sure that we in fact do slow down.”
The Leon County district is expecting around 30-thousand students back in classrooms. McNeil offered them some encouragement.
“Your superintendent Rocky Hanna has put in place guardians that will now be at our schools along with our deputies,” McNeil said. “Our deputies and our law enforcement family are out there trying to make sure we do everything we can to keep you safe.”
Speed cameras will be posted at more than two dozen schools. They will be active during the entire school day, not just when the lights are flashing in the morning and afternoon.
Tallahassee police chief Lawrence Revell says the goal is to change behavior.
“We want our community to slow down in our school zones and keep our kids safer, keep their families safer, keep our school crossing guards safer, and all the staff and faculty,” Revell said.
The district has also launched an initiative to collect cell phone numbers from all high school students so they can be texted in case of emergency.
“We don’t expect to need to do that, but if we do have a situation on campus or off campus and we need to get you a message instantaneously through text, we have that ability,” Hanna said.
As school administrators and law enforcement were talking to the media, Leon Schools Safety and Security Chief Jimmy Williams said several dogs were with a team at Montford Middle School being re-certified for weapons detection.
“Our new K-9 Fergie, she is a cocker spaniel, she can detect vape and anything dealing with vape. So, we take that very seriously,” Williams said. “We will visit all of our schools... We will continue our weapons detection program where we show up at schools randomly.”
Speakers also promoted the ‘See Something, Say Something’ initiative. It was born after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Students and anyone in the community are encouraged to report any school safety concerns on the FortifyFL app or by calling 850-922-KIDS.
