Millville School District hires armed security officers
MILLVILLE NJ Oct 21 2022 — The city school system is in the process of stationing armed private security guards at all nine of its schools, supplementing its own security personnel as well as two city police officers assigned to the district.
The company KD National Force Security is supplying the guards, one per school and all with a minimum of 20 years law enforcement experience. The same company did a threat risk evaluation of Lakeside Middle School on Sharp Street in the spring, according to the district announcement on Monday.
District Security Chief Scott Parvin is picking which schools first receive armed guards.
“Guards are being assigned to buildings in phases,” district spokeswoman Megan Finney added. “We have guards placed in multiple schools already.”
Finney said district funds are paying for the guards. However, their hiring grows out of steps Millville took after receiving money from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Millville High School is among the first public schools in the city to add an armed private security guard as part of a process that began in October 2022 under a contract with KD National Security Force. Here, R-L, district Security Chief Scott Parvin, a KDNSF guard assigned to the high school, and city police Officers Kenneth Sharretts and Sean Guy.
In 2021, Millville public schools and city police were jointly awarded a School Violence Prevention Program Grant. This is year two of the three-year grant. The funding has been used for numerous physical safety improvements at schools, such as greater camera surveillance and adding “panic buttons,” and other related equipment purchases, the district says.
According the district, its security chief used that risk analysis to develop an “action plan.”
“In conjunction with the armed guards services, district administration plan to introduce the assessment to every school, including any necessary revisions to current emergency response plans,” according to the district statement.
Parvin said the new guards represent “another level of vigilance.”
“They will have the daily responsibilities of monitoring entrance and exit points, performing foot patrols around the exterior of our schools, and most importantly taking the lead on monitoring our camera surveillance systems,” Parvin said.
Millville School District Security Chief Scott Parvin (right) talks with a KD National Security Force guard about security protocols at Lakeside Middle School. The middle school is among the first schools here to receive an armed security guard.
Under the grant, district staff and city police are being trained to assist with mental health issues among students. KDNFS is providing the training to district security aides and held a full-day session with aides on Oct. 7.
Finney said many of the KDNFS guards are from the Millville-Vineland-Bridgeton area. “We will be working with KD to actively recruit former law enforcement in our community so that future KD guards have an investment in the safety of our schools,” she said.
