By Ashley M. Casey
The Liverpool Central School District Board of Education held off on approving a recommendation from the Onondaga County School Safety Task Force that would allow security guards to carry firearms on campus. The item was on the BOE’s Nov. 5 agenda and the board agreed to table it when the two student liaisons and other board members expressed their concerns about having armed guards on school grounds.
Earlier in the meeting, the BOE voted to create the position of security guard. Superintendent Dr. Mark Potter said the district is interviewing three to six candidates.
“Firearms are a very serious matter and we are taking action in response to what we’ve seen going on around the country. However, we balance that with the fact that this is a free society and we don’t want our schools to be prisons,” said BOE member Nick Blaney.
Blaney asked if there was a protocol in place for how a security guard would make the decision to draw their weapon.
“I would have to look into determining whether or not we would supersede something that would be protocol for these individuals. They’re all retired either sheriff’s [deputies] or state troopers,” said Potter.
BOE President Craig Dailey said he trusts the judgment and training of a former law enforcement officer. Blaney said he agreed and added that he would want the board to be kept apprised of security situations in the district.
“If someone pulls out a knife, does that warrant pointing a gun at them?” Blaney asked. “I don’t know. There’s probably procedures and maybe I need to look that up personally, but that’s something that I would be interested in.”
Dailey suggested the board could invite a law enforcement officer to present to the BOE on the use of force, providing insight to questions like Blaney’s.
Olivia Russo, one of two student liaisons on the board, expressed her discomfort with the idea of having armed security at school.
“I have certain anxieties associated with there being a gun at school regardless of who is in possession of it,” she said. “In the situations we go through today, there’s also anxiety with not having a gun on school grounds. So is this something that the board has determined is more beneficial to have than not to have?”
Potter pointed out that sometimes police officers visit the school.
“That person has an exposed weapon every time they walk on campus,” he said. “It’s not like those folks aren’t already here, and the individuals we’re talking about are in the same role, except they’re retired.”
Dailey said the task force’s recommendation would come up for review each year.
“This gives these law enforcement professionals permission to carry. That does not necessarily mean that they will carry,” he said.
Russo’s fellow student liaison, Emily Neuner, echoed her classmate’s concerns.
“I just want to make sure that students would be made aware of security guards having firearms with them. I’m not sure if you’ve already planned for that, but if not, I feel like security guards with firearms would kind of [incite] panic among the students if at any point they were [used],” she said.
Potter assured the students that a firearm would be a security officer’s last resort, and said the district is looking at a blend of active and retired law enforcement officers for its security team.
BOE member James Root said he had mixed feelings about the idea.
“I don’t really feel that there’s a strong push within the Liverpool community to have these armed security guards,” he said.
Dailey said the consensus among community members who attended a security forum earlier this year was that they wanted armed security. Root said that even if the board allows them to carry firearms, they should start out unarmed to see if they feel the need to carry a weapon. He said the security team should focus on building relationships with students.
BOE member Joseph Morawski asked what kind of training potential security guards would have and which school districts in the area have armed security. Potter said the officers receive school-specific training, and he would be able to get data about other school districts’ officers.
The board voted to table the resolution to the next meeting. In the meantime, Russo and Neuner will be gathering feedback from their fellow students about the proposal.
