East Islip Votes To Arm Security Guards At Schools
EAST ISLIP, NY December 19 2018- East Islip school officials recently announced that there will be armed security guards at school buildings after the holiday break.
The trustees voted in favor of the armed security personnel at last Thursday’s board meeting following discussions between members of the Board of Education and district administrators on different options to keep the students safe over the last few months, Superintendent of Schools John V. Dolan said in a statement.
“This decision was made after months of thoughtful deliberation, research and multiple conversations with law enforcement, security professionals, our insurance carrier and district lawyers,” he said.
The district will not be hiring new security guards but rather equipping many of the existing security guards, all of whom are qualified retired police officers. They will also be required to undergo any necessary training and follow the guidelines set within the board policy.
“As always, the topic of safety and security is discussed among our staff often and we continually enhance and update our security protocols and infrastructure based on these discussions,” Dolan said in the statement. “We also constantly seek advice from and meet regularly with law enforcement authorities to ensure our personnel are well-informed and our Crisis Management Plan is updated regularly.”
In addition to arming the security guards, the district will be enhancing the security at the entrances at the schools which include installing “mantraps,” which means there will be two sets of interlocking doors that the require the first set of doors to be shut before the second set of doors is opened.
Exterior doors will also be replaced with new hardware, vestibules and lobbies will be reconfigured, and new security devices will be added.
The projects are expected to begin in 2019.
The district has also increased efforts to support the social-emotional well-being of the students through continuing several established programs such as the Sandy Hook Promise, Challenge Day, the Amityville Cultural Exchange Project and theSee Something Say Something Hotline — (631) 312-0620) — which the district began this year.
The district will be reviewing its mental health staff for the next school year and adding a peer mentor program.
In March, the Hauppauge School Board voted to add armed security guards for the district’s five schools.
The decision comes less than a year after a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 students were killed.
The shooting sparked national debate on gun control and inspired a number of teenage survivors from the school to take up the issue in their state legislature and in Washington, D.C.
