After one Long Island school district announced in January that it would be employing armed security guards on school campuses, another district is now following in its footsteps.
The Smithtown Central School District put out a letter Wednesday stating that armed security members would be stationed outside schools "to strengthen our ability to respond during a crisis, as well as to deter those who may seek to do harm." The district said the decision was made "with a heavy heart" but was necessary in order to best protect members of the school community.
"The rationale for this security enhancement is simple: Having armed guards on school grounds will improve our response time in order to better protect our students, faculty, staff, and community members," the letter from Superintendent Mark Secaur and the board of education stated.
It was not immediately clear when the the new guards would start monitoring the school. The district said they would come from security firms and would have to undergo training sessions every year. The district said it would not be able to share details such as "guard deployments, locations, and working hours as it may compromise their safety and effectiveness," but said they would not be inside the schools.
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The decision to add the armed guards comes just over two weeks after the South Huntington School District made a similar decision — leading to much debate among staff and parents. The guards, not in uniforms or marked cars, are stationed outside every school in the district and are only meant to enter schools in case of an emergency.
"You just never know. You just never know where and when it can happen," said district superintendent Dr. Vito D'Elia.
They were hired in response to school shootings across the country. But do students, parents and staff feel any safer with them around? While the idea is to prevent a school shooting, some parents have questions about who will be standing guard.
"I’m not too comfortable with this, it’s something super new and like I said: Who's going to be these guards? Where will they be hired from?" asked Danielle Gaviglia-Castro, a mom of a 10- and 6-year-old.
D’Elia said the guards must have a law enforcement background, and they will only be stationed outside the building.
"A strong piece of it is active shooter training. They are only being utilized for a very specific threat," he said.
The armed guards are hired by an outside vendor that costs the South Huntington School District about $750,000 a year. Meanwhile, there are also different security guards inside the school.
"There are some who are thrilled, feel safer think it will make their jobs safer, and they are all in, said Dennis Callahan, who works in the school district. "Then there are other people who think this is a path we shouldn’t be going down."
But the superintendent said it’s a question of reaction time. The guard is there to give students and teachers a fighting chance in a worst-case scenario.
"Why is this even happening in today’s world? We shouldn’t have to feel nervous about sending our kids from home," Gaviglia-Castro said.
