Security Officers Added To All Middletown Elementary Schools

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Middletown parents may have noticed something new when they dropped their kids off for the first day of school on Wednesday: The addition of security officers at all the district's elementary schools.

The addition of security officers at Middletown's elementary schools is new for the 2018-19 school year. The school district is also currently working on the possibility of adding Class III officers for the two high schools, Middletown North and South, but has not added them yet, according to superintendent Dr. Bill George.

These Class III officers are not security guards, but they are not regular municipal police officers, either: They are usually retired police officers who are licensed to carry a gun. So they would have a gun inside school buildings each day. The officers must be under 65 years old and undergo required training. They may work no more than 20 hours a week, and are not entitled to health insurance or a pension.

Those officers would be paid for through a shared services agreement with the Township.

And at the start of every school year, there is an added police presence in all Middletown public schools on the direction of Police Chief Craig Weber, George said.

In the wake of tragic school shootings nationwide, many districts across New Jersey are bulking up security as the start of the 2018-19 school year begins. Hazlet Township schools, for example, are currently in the process of installing double-entry vestibules at all eight schools. Also, visitors, once they have been vetted, will be escorted through the hallways to their destination, NJ.com reported. Parents who bring items to their children will have to leave them in the vestibule. Like Middletown, Hazlet is also looking into hiring Class III officers for its schools.

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