Residents ask Palmerton school board for police officer

A discussion on armed police officers in Palmerton Area School District could be back on the table before long.

During budget discussions earlier this year, the nine-member voting panel kicked the tires on a proposal for two armed officers before ultimately approving a set of physical building enhancements instead.

Last week, residents called on the board to reconsider adding the officers.

“I still really feel we need the officers,” Patricia Woginrich said. “When you’re working on the next budget, I hope it’s something you take a good look at before something does happen. Then it’s too late.”

The proposal for two officers and one vehicle was estimated to cost just under $200,000.

Superintendent Scot Engler said if the district wants to dust off the plans for school police officers, the district could work on alternative funding streams so that the financial impact to the district is minimal.

“In the places I’ve been, the school police officer wears more hats than just security,” Engler said. “They are often times also filling a social worker role and a liaison to other agencies. I’ve seen that work successfully and that is what I would envision here.”

Board President Barry Scherer said the idea had been discussed, but he voiced his reservations.

The officers couldn’t be at all the schools all of the time, Scherer said, and the district would also need to find a way to make it work financially.

“If the district doesn’t come up with a funding plan, we will deplete the fund balance in no time,” he said. “We have to balance that with the necessity of these positions. We could ultimately see the loss of programs as we have in the past because of financial concerns.”

Palmerton’s board left the door open last week to discuss the officer proposal further at a future workshop session.

“I’d like it to be brought back up again,” director Tammy Recker said. “I’m not saying everything proposed needs to happen, but we need to do something. It’s worth another conversation.”