North Hills School Board Will Vote To Start Process Of Putting Armed Guards In Schools

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ROSS TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- A school building has always been a place of security but Parkland shattered that sense of innocence for good. Now our children talk of shooter drills and administrators wrestle with putting armed protectors outside their classrooms.

"It's not an easy day for us to talk about putting guns in schools. Not at all, not for me," says North Hills Superintendent Dr. Patrick Mannarino. "I think the time has come in schools for us to do that, but I'm not looking for a police state."

That was Dr. Mannarino's declaration to the North Hills School Board before it voted to give him the green light to begin putting together the policies and guidelines that will lead to establishing a North Hills School Police Department.

Under the plan, one armed officer will be assigned to each of the district's elementary schools and two officers plus a supervisor will patrol the middle and high school campus.

"This is not just a person at a desk with a gun that you have to walk by when you get here," says Dr. Mannarino. "That's not what we're looking to do here. I want them to be a part of the community, part of that learning family that students can go to when they are in need or in trouble."

"Unfortunately, we live in a day where school districts and children attending school have become a target of violence. So anything the school district does to further increase safety of the students there is something we're all for," Ross Township Police Detective Brian Kolhepp said. "Having them in there for the students to interact with is a good thing, letting them get to know police up close. I think there are a number of benefits that can come from this. Like response time, I mean, what's the better response time than having someone right there?"

The board could get an earful on both sides of the issue at next week's meeting when the resolution is expected to be approved. If all goes well and the right officers can be found, they could be on the job by the start of school in the fall.