Drug dogs used in Escambia schools

ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Florida (WALA) - Students in northwest Florida were greeted with an extra security presence on their first day back to school Monday.

Summer is officially over for students in northwest Florida. It was back to school for more than 38,000 students in Escambia County. Some of those students got a visit from Escambia County Deputy Wayne Goolsbey and his canine partner, Miso. They were looking for drugs.

“It’s just over the last several years there's been an issue with illegal drugs in our schools and the district decided we wanted to be a little bit more aggressive this year in how we address the issue,” Steve Sharp, Director of Security for Escambia County Schools, said.

It’s a new program that started up with the new school year. West Florida High School was the third stop for the search team on Monday. One other high school and a middle school had already been searched. Two classrooms at West Florida were targeted.

Students were filed out of class and made to stand in the hallway while Miso and Goolsbey canvassed the classroom. No part of the campus is off limits. But, the students are.

“They won’t be searching the students,” said Sharp. “They don’t have that one-on-one contact, but it’s all open and fair game.”

Which schools are searched and when is top secret. Only Sharp’s office and the K-9 teams know. We do know that every middle and high school in Escambia County will be searched at least once a month.

The cost for the program is about $35,000 and will be paid out of the school system’s general fund. Off-duty Escambia County deputies and Pensacola Police Officers will be conducting the searches.