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Manatee schools add daily weapons screening units, new call routing and work with county on school‑zone cameras
Summary
District security and operations staff described deployment of Evol Express weapons‑detection walkthrough units at high schools, an initial roll‑out of a bilingual parent contact overlay ('Let's Talk'), a plan to integrate translation tools, and county plans for school‑zone speed cameras; the board discussed staffing, SRO training and communications.
District safety and operations staff told the board Aug. 6 they have expanded campus security measures and are rolling out new technology intended to improve safety and family communications.
Tom Cesser, the district's security supervisor, and Mr. Raldi briefed the board on the Evol Express weapons‑detection system the district selected for high‑school entry screening. They said Evol Express uses advanced sensors and AI to flag objects of concern while people walk through at a natural pace; the district purchased 18 additional units to deploy multiple lanes at each high school and hired 11 new district Guardians to operate the equipment for morning arrivals and extracurricular events. Cesser said the system does not require removal of backpacks (laptops are removed) and that an alert routes an individual to a nearby area for secondary screening.
Board members asked whether SROs (school resource officers) would operate the units; officials said local law‑enforcement personnel had not been trained and that Guardians would staff screening initially. Members discussed operational questions about late arrivals, staffing and whether the system could be used on buses in the future; district staff said boarding‑point screening on buses presents operational and safety tradeoffs and that arrival points remain the priority.
Operations staff also demonstrated 'Let's Talk,' a contact‑center overlay linked to the district student information system that routes parent calls directly to the correct office (transportation, ESC, student assignment, superintendent) and records response times. The transportation office is the initial rollout department; the system is bilingual and staff said it can build an FAQ tree to speed answers.
Separately, Manatee County is installing about 30 school‑zone speed‑monitoring cameras in unincorporated areas; staff said the cameras will monitor speeds 30 minutes before and after school, and during the day, and that the county will run a 30‑day public notification period before enforcement. Board members emphasized the need for county communications and accuracy checks for flasher timing and asked district staff to share county outreach materials on the district website.
Transportation leaders also reported that the district runs roughly 94 bus routes and five van routes, with 93 rostered bus drivers and additional applicants in training; staff noted concerns about illegal passing of stopped school buses and urged drivers to stop for school buses as required by law.
