Cherry Hill Schools Security To Include 'Fully Equipped' Cops

CHERRY HILL, NJ — Beginning on Monday, March 5, “fully equipped” Cherry Hill police officers will be stationed at the district’s 19 schools, the township and the board of education each announced after meeting on Friday. This is in addition to the daily directed patrols already occurring in and around the schools.

The Cherry Hill Public School District Board of Education will have a special meeting on Tuesday night, March 6, 7 p.m., to discuss further security measures. Part of the meeting will be in closed session, but there will be time for public comment. The meeting will be held in the auditorium at Cherry Hill High School West.

For safety reasons, the specific details regarding the increase in security measures will not be made public, according to a statement by the township. However, it did say fully equipped officers will be stationed in the district’s high, middle and elementary schools, at the recommendation of Cherry Hill Police Chief William Monaghan.

“As I said earlier this week, when talking about safeguarding our schools, we need to talk about what immediate measures can be taken. I believe the quickest, most efficient way to have an immediate increase in security is to have fully equipped police officers in our schools,” Cherry Hill Mayor Chuck Cahn said. “We are ready and willing to partner with the schools. We have the capability to make improvements today and that’s what we are going to do.”

“We need to take steps to immediately improve school security while a more comprehensive plan is developed and put into action,” Cherry Hill Township Council President Fleisher said. “All of town council stands ready to work with the Mayor and school officials to ensure the safety of our children and our entire community.”

During Tuesday night’s special meeting, the Board of Education will discuss both short and long term security solutions. The agenda will be released on Monday.

In addition to the police officers, the following changes will also take effect at Cherry Hill schools as of Monday:
All parents, guardians and family members must present photo identification and their child’s student identification number before being admitted to any school building;
All other visitors, including alumni, must make an appointment before coming to the school and must also provide ID; and
All the district’s schools will announce arrival and dismissal procedures with their children and families.

Beyond Monday’s changes, the district will work with security professionals to assess the policies and procedures in place in all district schools and facilities. It will also host community conversations with parents, children, community members and elected officials to discuss safety and security. Dates are being decided and will be announced soon, the district said.

The district added that it will continue to hold staff accountable to do the following every day:

• All staff members will sign in when arriving and sign out of the building when exiting;
• All visitors to district schools must report to the main entrance and be buzzed in one at a time;
• All visitors will be required to sign in to the building upon arrival and to sign out upon departure;
• All exterior doors will be closed and locked throughout the school day;
• All staff members will wear their ID badges at all times;
• All visitors will wear guest badges while they are in the building;
• Any student arriving late to school must be buzzed in the main entrance and report to the main office to sign in;
• A minimum of one fire drill and one security drill will be held in every school each month;
• Regular staff meetings will include a review of district safety and security procedures;
• Building level and district level safety committee meetings will include a review of safety and security procedures; and
• Students, staff and community members will be encouraged to follow, "If you see something, say something."

The announcement came three days after residents packed a Board of Education meeting to question officials about security and to voice outrage about the reported suspension of an AP History teacher at Cherry Hill High School East who voiced his own concerns about the lack of security in the district's schools.

Students staged a protest in the hallways of Cherry Hill High School East on Monday, and hundreds of students walked out of class on Tuesday morning. The protests drew national attention. For its part, the administration has indicated Locke hasn't been suspended, although it isn't permitted to discuss personnel issues.

See related: Attorney Pens Letter In Defense Of Suspended Cherry Hill Teacher

Patch file photo