Should the Seaford BOE hold a Town Hall on School Security

Should the Seaford Board of Education hold a Community Town Hall meeting on school security!

I started a debate recently when I wrote an article on our local patch titled “Is it time we armed the retired police officers who work in our schools”. This discussion has been a hot topic on local social media pages with many showing support for exploring this option, and to be fair, some did not. This lead to a petition addressed to Governor Cuomo and our local state politicians. The petition called for arming retired police officers with annual training to patrol our schools, lift or eliminate the 30k cap retired police officers could earn while working for a school or university and to grant Peace Officer status for retired police officers employed as a school resource officer/security guard. To date, the petition to change state law has over 1200 signatures.

Others joined the school security debate asking questions about training for school staff and early intervention for at risk children. This led to a large turnout at the Seaford board of education meeting on March 1. Many questions were asked at that meeting, but we were informed by the BOE that they would not answer any questions and that we would need to make appointments with the school superintendent if we wanted answers to any questions. I along with others have emailed the board and have received responses, but these responses are not heard by the community. Maybe it’s time the Seaford Board of Education holds a School Security Town Hall meeting. A meeting specifically for School Safety and Security. The BOE can explain their plans, options they are debating, also to conduct question and answers with the community. It would be great if they invited local politicians and representatives from the police department.

It would be informative for the community to hear what the BOE, our local politicians and the police department's opinion is on many of the questions and concerns the community has such as

• Connecting the school districts camera system that already is being installed to the Nassau County Police Department’s Rave app, which would give the NCPD a direct feed into the school’s camera system in an emergency. This connection cost nothing to the School District as the county pays for the cost.

• Exploring the option of arming the retired police officers that already patrol our schools with annual training and backgrounds.

• What type of training does the school staff currently have and what additional training do they need?

• What types of early mental health intervention does the BOE provide and if they planning to add more.

• What can the school and the community do together to combat bullying?

• What can parents do and look out for?

• A chance to hear parent’s suggestions

• The possibility of the BOE working with local community groups as an option.

• Will BOE from a parent safety and security committee to work in conjunction with current school committees.

The school district has hired a consulting firm to evaluate security. That is a great step, but it should not be the only step. The community needs to be involved.

Maybe an open forum with all involved is just what the community needs. Allow the community an opportunity to ask questions and offer ideas. I think with open dialogue many of our concerns and questions can be answered. Community support is essential for any plan to work. Hopefully this process can produce a security plan that best addresses the needs of the community.

This is my personal opinion and not the opinion of any civic board I may belong to.

Anyone from the Seaford Wantagh and Levittown school districts please join the discussion in the Facebook group

Parents for Safer Schools in Seaford Wantagh & Levittown.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/1869950143079786

The link for the petition to governor Cuomo and local, state representatives to change state law for retired police officers that work in our schools.

https://www.change.org/p/andre...

*NOTE

Just yesterday a petition by some Seaford school district residents has been circulated to the Seaford BOE to

1) To support EXPLORING the option of arming the retired police officers that already patrol our schools after attending required training, mental health exam and background checks

2) To support connecting the school to the RAVE system allowing teachers with panic buttons to connect directly to the police department's communications bureau bypassing 911 and triggering the police department to be able to access our camera system for real time information system allowing

This is a petition for Seaford School District residents only!

Link below

https://seafordparents2018.wuf...

I know some might not agree with all of the positions some are pushing on school security. There has been passion on all sides. There is no doubt that all are looking out for the best interests of their children. Whatever your opinion is, you should notify the BOE of what that is. The BOE needs to hear our suggestions and questions. If you support a Town Hall meeting on security inform the BOE.