2018 in review: School security top issue

The mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school hit home when Pleasant Valley graduate Chris Hixon was among the 17 killed.

Area school districts had been concentrating on beefing up security before then, but this was the catalyst to put plans in place.

The Tamaqua Area School District made national news on Sept. 18, when the board enacted a policy authorizing administrators, teachers or other district staff who undergo special training to carry firearms and use deadly force while performing school duties.

It was the first district in the state to adopt such a policy, drawing crowds of supporters and opposition to the meetings.

At a Nov. 7 school board meeting, community members laid out extensive alternatives to the policy, including better screening of visitors, infrastructure changes, shooter detection systems and investments in mental health support and threat assessments.

The board is evaluating suggestions and has started the random use of metal detectors at the high school.

The teachers union is taking the case to court, arguing the district wasn’t authorized by the state’s school code to adopt a policy that would arm its employees, and because the policy authorized the employees to carry firearms in schools when they haven’t received training under the Municipal Police Education and Training Law.

The district fired back, asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit because the union “lacked the standing to file it.” The union has responded to those objections.

Tamaqua area school board President Larry Wittig said the board won’t comment on the policy due to the lawsuit filed by the teachers union.

Here is a look at the other districts:

CCTI

At the Carbon Career and Technical Institute, directors moved to change the role of the school’s resource officer to “school police officer” after Carbon County President Judge Roger Nanovic signed off on it.

Administrative Director Dave Reinbold, who said though the school doesn’t have a lot of security issues, said the move strengthens the school’s security profile and takes the burden off the Jim Thorpe Police Department, which has jurisdiction over the school.

Jim Thorpe

Jim Thorpe School District officials followed a similar route, working up a plan with the Jim Thorpe Police Department for it to deploy a part-time officer to the school district for 32 hours each week.

The officer would fall under the detail of the police department with the district paying for the position.

Lehighton

Lehighton Area School District hired two armed part-time police officers in 2018 to “provide a consistent presence” in district schools and at extracurricular activities.

The district was looking into a school resource officer partnership with Lehighton borough and had proposed paying 80 percent to cover the officer, while the borough would pick up 20 percent. When the borough asked the school district to fund the officer 100 percent, however, administration began looking at other avenues.

“In talking with other districts, we began seeing that hiring our own part-time officers would give us greater flexibility,” Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver said. “We now have the option to hire two part-time officers as opposed to one school resource officer, which would also carry with it post-employment benefits.”

The officers are each paid $30 per hour for up to 120 hours per month (30 per week) for 10 months.

The district received a grant when it was considering a school resource officer of $60,000 for the first year and $30,000 for the second year.

The officers would have full arresting powers and work under the supervision of the superintendent.

“Officers will rotate buildings throughout the district,” Cleaver said.

Adding the officers to the district payroll increased Lehighton’s insurance package by $2,500 per year for the extra liability.

Northern Lehigh

In May, Northern Lehigh School Board entered into a contract with PA Window Tint Inc. to install safety film on the entrances of all of the school buildings at a cost of $40,832.

The board authorized the purchase of door hardware to secure the vestibules at Slatington Elementary School, Northern Lehigh Middle School, and the district office, at a cost of $11,216.

Superintendent Matthew Link said the district is now partnering with a local consultant for Emergency Planning and Response to review the district’s plan and response protocols.

He said the district allows local first-responders — such as fire companies — access to utilize its buildings to train and so that they are familiar with the layout of each building, and has offered the same to the Lehigh County Emergency Management Center.

Link added, “Our end goal is to keep our students, staff and guests safe in all of our buildings.”

Palmerton

Palmerton’s board said it would like to continue pursuing the hiring of two school police officers and making physical infrastructure improvements to district buildings.

During a board workshop, directors asked Superintendent Scot Engler to draft an official job description for the officers.

Engler said initial research was done several years ago. Startup money was budgeted for the officers for the 2018-19 school year, but the board did not move forward at that time.

Engler said if the district went in that direction, it would likely look at adding two retired state police officers who already have benefits. He estimated the salaries at just under $40,000 for each officer.

Director Barry Scherer said the idea to add officers had been discussed, but he voiced his reservations and said he would like to see more physical building improvements.

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.

In August, the board unanimously accepted a proposal from the Gilbertson Group for “districtwide security updates.” The work is estimated to cost around $120,000.

Panther Valley

Bullets found in school and terroristic threats through the use of social media plagued Panther Valley School District schools.

The district’s senior-junior high school was in lockdown several times in March when bullets were found, prompting officials to beckon the services of K-9s trained to detect explosives. Two K-9 units, one from state police and the other from Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, swept the building and parking lot, but turned up no additional suspicious items.

Earlier in the year, Superintendent Dennis Kergick said, the school was placed under lockdown due to social media threats. A student was charged with making terroristic threats after making social media posts saying he would be the “next school shooter.”

Two months later, the junior-senior high school was placed under a red alert for several hours after a spent bullet was found in a girls’ locker room, necessitating another lockdown.

Problems continued through the end of the school year.

As a result of all of its troubles, Panther Valley officials have planned to have an armed police officer on school grounds for the 2018-19 school year.

Pleasant Valley

Pleasant Valley has stepped up front door school security, with each building having a system that requires visitors to enter through a captured vestibule and to show identification to enter the building during the school day.

The only building that does not include direct line-of-sight is the high school. The district made a decision in September to make major modifications to the high school main entrance.

Under the new design a security guard will be present at the entrance and will greet and screen everyone entering the building during the school day. Visitors will be required to leave their identification with the guard during their time at the school.

The changes to the front entrance are expected to cost the district an estimated $100,000.

Weatherly

The Weatherly Area school board moved to secure its schools by hiring a part-time police officer and voting to continue its search for a full-time officer.

The district will receive a $40,000 grant to help cover the costs of the officers. Superintendent Teresa Young said the grant money required the district to employ the officers for at least two years. The state funding would expire after two years, she said.

After that, Young said, “We’re hoping the security features of the building plan will eliminate the need for a full-time officer and we could get by with just a part-time officer.”

Terry Ahner, Jarrad Hedes and Judy Dolgos-Kramer contributed to this report.