Students in one part of Long Island returned to something new on Monday: armed guards patrolling their campus.
The guards, not in uniforms or marked cars, are stationed outside every school in the South Huntington School 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.
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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 about $750,000 a year. Meanwhile, there are also different security guards inside the school that are paid by a different budget.
"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.
