New school police okayed

Threats talk sets tone for meeting, By David Hulse WESTFALL —Deciding all three district campuses should be equally protected, the Delaware Valley School Board on Sept. 6 agreed to create an armed school police force and hire four officers to staff it. The decision came after a tense meeting of the board’s safety committee where parents questioned administrators handling of a Sept. 5 incident of gun threats allegedly made by a youth in the 9-10 high school. Delaware Valley was said to be the only school district in the region that had not already acquired some kind of on-campus police presence. The board vote was unanimous, with Jack Fisher absent. Safety committee Chair Bob Goldsack said the school police officers to be hired will be Act 120 certified, meaning they’ve met the same training levels as state police. He said active duty, local police officers are expected to fill one 12-month supervisory and three 10 month positions. Each campus will have one officer, with the supervisor mobile among all three. The first of the appointments was scheduled to come at the board’s Sept. 20 meeting, so staffing could begin immediately. Board members said the cops are to be a proactive deterrent, rather than incident response. Several people in the crowded audience voiced support for the new program. The police force is expected to cost approximately $220,000 to initiate. Superintendent Candis Finan said $152,000 in “not-earmarked” funding has already been found available for the program. The Sept. 5 incident appeared to have an impact. Two students charged that a third had shouted threats outside a rest room door. Goldsack said the youth was said to have twice yelled, “‘I’ve got a gun and I’m not afraid to use it.’” After waiting several minutes for the shouting student to leave, the other two reported the incident to administrators, who searched the accused youth and his locker and found no weapon. The incident was turned over to the Pike County District Attorney’s office. Board members questioned if measures harsher than the imposed three-day suspension should be considered. Parents said the accused would know who told administrators. What would happen next? “It’s a loaded gun,” the mother of one of the youths said. “Why weren’t we called?” a father asked. Finan said everyone must realize that the world has changed. “We take this very seriously, but you must understand that this kind of thing happens hundreds of times a year, sometimes on the hour.”