While the Tamaqua Area school board on Tuesday discussed allowing some staff members to carry guns, Shenandoah Valley is also considering the possibility of upgrading security with firearms.
In February, the Shenandoah Valley school board will consider a proposal that suggests having "armed, trained security when school is in session," Shenandoah Valley Superintendent Stanley G. Rakowsky said Wednesday.
"Those of us associated with the district were confident that our district students and staff were shielded from intruders. However, the events of Dec. 14 gave pause for concern," Rakowsky said, referring to last month's fatal shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
The proposal, developed by the district's safety committee, will be discussed at the school board's next workshop Feb. 18.
On Tuesday, Tamaqua Area school board authorized district administrators to develop a policy that would set the rules for arming school personnel. Larry Wittig, school board president, said the talks are in the very early stages but that giving guns to employees would make the schools seem less like a prison than hiring police officers to patrol halls.
A new proposal at Shenandoah Valley also includes firearms, but in a different way.
"Not one to offer knee-jerk response to stimuli, Shenandoah Valley School District has long been proactive in addressing the issue of security. Extensive use of surveillance cameras located throughout the facility and monitoring of visitors throughout the day led us to this confidence. The district's recently completed renovation project, whereby entrance is further monitored electronically at each general point of entry, further buoyed that assurance," Rakowsky said Wednesday.
Rakowsky met with the district's safety committee Dec. 17. Its members include: Phil Andras, high school principal; Anthony P. Demalis Jr., district business manager; Leslie Gilroy, SVESPA president; Dave Lukashunas, maintenance supervisor; Bernie Pretko, assistant maintenance supervisor; Richard Werner, Shenandoah Valley Education Association president; Barbara Wilkinson, elementary principal; and Michelle Zinkus, high school vice principal.
"My charge to the committee was purposely succinct: 'Critique what we have in place and reach a consensus on improving it,' " Rakowsky said.
The committee is planning to recommend the following procedures:
- Where required, install a mechanism allowing teachers to lock the classroom door from inside the room.
- Equip entrance/exit doors throughout the facility to emit warning sounds if opened without permission.
Other measures the committee suggested include:
- Armed, trained security on duty when school is in session.
- Increased use of surveillance cameras to be constantly reviewed when school is in session.
- Issue designated personnel "walkie-talkie" units to expedite communication process.
- Parents should call the school in advance of picking up students.
- Upgrade glass panels at the entrance to the school.
- Evacuation plans to be reviewed and drills conducted routinely.
Schuylkill County schools
In the past year, several schools in Schuylkill County have upgraded security measures, although not all of them were in response to the tragedy in Newtown.
Blue Mountain School District is investing $40,000 to upgrade school security at its buildings, Robert L. Urzillo, school superintendent, said Tuesday.
"We've put in a card entrance reader at the high school and we're installing shatter-proof safety coating on entrance-way windows and classroom doors. This applies to all buildings," Urzillo said.
In September, Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29 spent $1,000 to install a "Visitor Management" computer at the entrance to its Maple Avenue Campus in Mar Lin, Diane M. Niederriter, IU 29 executive director, said Monday.
Visitors are required to use the keyboard to check in and have a camera attached to the computer take their picture. The computer will print out a badge with an adhesive back and visitors must stick them on their chests. Then, before they leave the building, visitors are required to return to the computer station to check out.
"One of our employees saw one at another location and we put it in shortly after the start of the school year. It wasn't in reaction to anything," Neiderriter said.
In January, Pottsville Area installed similar systems at its elementary, middle and high schools. The difference is that school secretaries, including Rose Doorly at the elementary school, conduct the check-in process.
"People signing them in are going to have face-to-face contact with the person instead of them just coming over to the counter and signing their name in the book. They'll actually have to take the time to have that face-to-face contact with whoever's in the building," Jared A. Gerace, principal at Pottsville Area's John S. Clarke Elementary Center, said Wednesday.
Security at Hazleton Area
Hazleton Area School District enlists state police to protect the high school campus and hires school resource officers whom a judge appoints to serve as police officers in schools. They help at the high school campus and patrol elementary and middle schools, Superintendent Francis X. Antonelli said.
In total, five people carry guns while working for the school district, including Security Director James Henry, Antonelli said. All five employees have Act 120 training required of police officers in Pennsylvania.
Because trained officers are available in the schools, Antonelli said he would be cautious about arming teachers, administrators and other workers who might have less training.
Carmella Yenkevich said the security committee of the Hazleton Area school board, to which she belongs, plans to study adding school resource officers. She also wants to know the costs of installing metal detectors in elementary/middle schools. The district already has detectors at the high school, career center and ninth-grade center.
Hazleton school board member Tony Bonomo said he likes an idea, developed at a meeting with administrators and police chiefs, to invite local police into schools.
While officers serving McAdoo, Freeland, Hazleton and Butler and Sugarloaf townships can't work full-time in the schools, Bonomo said they could spend some regular patrol time at schools in their municipalities. The district might provide stipends for them to work in the schools while off duty from their regular job.
"The idea was to stagger the times. People aren't going to do anything when they know the police will be there," Bonomo said.
State laws and training
The Pennsylvania School Board Association recommends conducting intruder drills and lockdowns and inviting police to train in schools so they become familiar with the layout of the buildings.
Association spokesman Steve Robinson said each school district will set its own policies but the decision to arm teachers shouldn't be made lightly.
"We hire them to educate students, not carry guns," Robinson said.
School boards should consider how to secure guns on school property, what to do if the gun gets in the wrong hands and what type of firearms training school workers should receive. Local police and the school's insurance carrier should contribute to the discussion about arming teachers, he said.
State law says anyone who carries a gun or other weapon onto school property commits a misdemeanor. A provision, however, allows people to possess a weapon that is "used in conjunction with a lawful supervised school activity or course or is possessed for other lawful purpose." That provision allows people to carry guns when providing security, state police Trooper Adam Reed, a public information officer in Harrisburg, said by email.
Bob Kostaras owns Classic Pistol of Southampton, Bucks County, one of several centers certified to train security guards to carry weapons in Pennsylvania. The training, governed by Pennsylvania Act 235, takes 40 hours.
For teachers, Kostaras recommends a course teaching them when to shoot and when to hold fire.
"They have to be very aware. It's a major responsibility to protect our children," he said.