Olentangy Local school board voted Thursday night to spend nearly $64,000 to install vape detectors in each of the district's four high schools.

"We definitely knew that students are vaping, based on finding students vaping in the bathrooms on school property," said Krista Davis, schools spokeswoman. "I am sure middle-schoolers are vaping to some extent. But we're hoping to address it at the high school and continue to monitor it elsewhere."

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The year-old detection technology, called Halo, is taking off, with about 700 school districts nationally using it, said Rick Cadiz, vice president of sales for Long Island, New York-based IPVideo, which manufacturers the device.

Akin to a smoke detector, the device has 12 sensors that can detect up to 150 substances, including tobacco, THC or vaping compounds.

Nationally, the issue of vaping has taken on new urgency, with several reported deaths and hospitalizations due to lung conditions following use of the devices, also known as e-cigarettes.

The detection devices are typically connected to a school's video network and time stamp an incident so administrators can connect it with video of those leaving or entering a restroom.

It also has a microphone that can pick up unusually loud noises that might indicate a fight in progress or other disturbance, Cadiz said.

"If Johnny and Billy light up and then walk out of the bathroom, principals can be pretty certain that they're doing something that they're not supposed to," said Matt Sobel, a sales executive for the company.

The company said there has been little concern about privacy issues, because there are no cameras inside the restroom.

"If you can put a smoke detector in the bathroom, you can put this in there, too," said Sobel.

Eliza McCartney, a Clintonville mother of two, who uses a vaping device to kick her smoking habit, said she thinks the idea is a good one, even though her children don't attend Olentangy schools.

"Kids should not be vaping or smoking," she said, especially with "what's happened with the deaths and people buying illicit THC cartridges, basically a tainted product." THC is the active chemical in marijuana.

"I'm typically against invasion of privacy, unless it's for the safety of the kids, especially considering the recent deaths," McCartney said.

dnarciso@dispatch.com

@DeanNarciso