Lehighton Area School District may soon become the latest in the area to install vape detectors in its middle and high schools.

During a board meeting last week, President Joy Beers asked if Lehighton had considered purchasing the detectors in the wake of Pleasant Valley adding them to middle and high school bathrooms.

“There is a dialogue about that here,” Lehighton High School Principal Sue Howland said. “Vaping is an issue here and I don’t think that is any big secret. We’ve not only seen a rise in students vaping, but repeat offenders is also something we’re dealing with.”

Pleasant Valley purchased all-in-one smart sensors made by Johnson Controls. The devices cost $20,970.42 at the high school and $17,357.38 at the middle school for installation, programing and testing.

Mary Figura, Lehighton’s assistant to the superintendent, said the district was looking to purchase its devices through a Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency grant.

“There is a punitive aspect to it when someone is vaping at school, but there is also an educational component,” Howland said. “Ultimately, we want to help that person as much as we can because most of the time, they aren’t vaping to be cool, they are vaping because it’s an addiction.”

The detectors measure air content and alert school officials when they detect changes that indicate vaping.

“We know they are out there,” Lehighton Athletic Director Kyle Spotts said, “because some other schools have told us they have them in their locker rooms.”