Returning West Shore students have come back to school to see the addition of new fences and gates around campus. Previously, the campus was not fully meeting a state statute requiring certain perimeter control. This 2024 Florida Statute defines a “school safety zone” as the area within 500 feet of any real property owned by or leased to any public or private school.

“It was really to make sure we meet the state statute, because we were not really meeting it last year,” Principal Burt Clark said.

The new security has changed how students enter and leave school. 

“The new design allows for students to be funneled into the gate where the metal detectors are, and the students can now exit through the gate by the track faster since it is now a push gate, not needing to be unlocked,” School Resource Officer Valerie Butler said.

Freshman Gwen Lies said she believes that the gate could cause delays.

“Right now, the high school car loop goes smoothly since it isn’t that busy,” Lies said. “But I believe that if it gets more crowded in the future, it could be a potential problem.”

Clark said he believes that the gates have positively impacted the school.

“The fence has a small mesh, so it’s hard to climb, and it’s eight feet tall, so it’s putting everybody behind a safer barrier that we were not provided with before,” Clark said.