Edison BOE Voting On Adding Armed Police Officers To Schools

EDISON, NJ — The Edison Board of Education is considering deploying armed police officers to township schools, and will vote on the measure Monday night.

Several security measures are being considered, including armed police officers, superintendent Richard O'Malley and Board president Jerry Shi said in a joint statement posted on the district website. The board and district will be working closely with the Edison Police Department in planning future security measures, and some will be referred to a security committee for discussion, O'Malley and Shi said.

Edison has been promoting the upcoming vote heavily, with ConnectEd calls and emails sent out to all households with students Sunday evening. The board will vote on the measure during Monday's meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. at Lindenau School.

Schools across the nation have been on high alert since 17 people, many of them students, were killed and 16 more injured in a Valentine's Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Threats to schools, many of them turning out to be unsubstantiated, have skyrocketed.

According to The Educator's School Safety Network, there have been 532 school-based threats or violent incidents in the U.S. since the Parkland shooting — an average of 88.7 per school day. In all, 490 schools in 49 states have been threatened or had actual violence happen, according to the group.

Edison would not be the first district to add armed officers if the measure passes. East Brunswick voted earlier this month to add armed officers to their security measures, which already included 71 security guards, all of whom are retired police officers.

Do you think armed police officers should patrol Edison schools? Email Katie.Kausch@patch.com with your thoughts.

Image via Shutterstock