PALM BEACH, Fla. — The School District of Palm Beach County (SDPBC) will hire an additional 24 full-time police officers to monitor elementary schools in the district.
The new officers will join the district’s 141-person police department in August when the new school semester begins. The addition will allow at least one officer for every three schools, the Sun Sentinel reports. As many as 30 police aides, whom the district hired in January, will remain at schools to patrol multiple entry points.
SDPBC will spend $1.6 million annually for the new officers, while the aides will cost another $800,000. District officials also plan to spend $5.8 million for new fencing and campus security.