FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Broward County Public Schools officials held a news conference Thursday afternoon to provide a progress report on recommendations made for school districts by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission.
Superintendent Robert Runcie spoke about what the school district has done so far and what it will do in the future to keep schools safe.
According to school officials, 1,300 "code red" drills have been conducted since the beginning of the school year.
A total of 82 percent of schools in the county now have just a single point of entry, with the remainder to be completed this year.
There is also a new safety and security office, new chief and 30 new positions.
School officials said an agreement with the Broward Sheriff's Office to access surveillance cameras at Broward County schools has already been completed, and the school district will provide access to other law enforcement agencies as well.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission submitted its initial report earlier this month to the state.
Among the recommendations made are armed assailant training for school personnel, bulletproof glass on classroom windows and arming teachers.
"Since Feb. 14, we've worked on nothing but security and safety in this district," Runcie said.
Runcie and the school district have been under scrutiny by the commission for failing to act on prior warning signs involving Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 people last Valentine's Day and for leaving the campus wide open on the day the shooter carried out the massacre.
"We didn't wait for the report to come out before we started to take action," Runcie said.
