Vape smackdown planned by administration

Milton Area School District is in the process of getting metal detector wands due to an increase in vape use in the secondary schools.  

According to High School Co-Principal Mr. Michael Bergey, the school district is looking at different grants for the wands along with the vape detectors. He added that he isn’t sure if those grants are “solidified.” The district only plans to purchase one wand per school building, so regardless they will be investing in them, Mr. Bergey said. 

High School Co-Principal Mr. Andrew Rantz said that the district isn’t sure which brand of wands they will purchase, but the cost can range from $40-160 per wand. 

Mr. Rantz said that the district does not plan to purchase walk-through metal detectors as of now.  

Mr. Bergey said that there isn’t a set date for the wands to arrive. “I can’t imagine it will be this school year,” he added. 

Mr. Bergey said that the recent decision was influenced by the vaping crisis in the district. 

The district is in the process of installing vape detectors in response to the outbreak of vaping that the school(s) are facing, according to Mr. Rantz. 

Mr. Bergey added that the wands will be used on an “as-needed” basis. “If there was a suspicion that somebody had something on them, …it would be a precautionary measure,” he said.  

Currently when a search is conducted, “students are asked to empty any and all pockets,” said Mr. Rantz. Students must also provide any belongings such as backpacks and purses, he added. 

Mr. Rantz said that the school district is “not invasive” with student searches, and the addition of the wands will ensure a more thorough search while still remaining non-invasive. When searching a student, administration uses personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as providing a witness while conducting the search, he added. 

“At this point right now, the wands are just for us as a school district,” said Mr. Bergey. This means that the wands are limited to being used by just the administration rather than the resource officers, he added.  

“We just operate in a different capacity than our SROs (School Resource Officers). We are employees of the Milton Area School District; they are employees of the Milton Borough Police Department,” said Mr. Rantz. 

Mr. Bergey added that, as of now, no district policies must be changed to allowed the use of the metal detecting wands.