Pittsburgh-area school district reaches agreement for school resource officers at schools
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Four elementary schools in the Seneca Valley School District will now be staffed with school resource officers.
The district announced agreements with the Cranberry Township and Zelienople police departments. The district will also keep three school resource officers at its main campus for the middle and high schools. The agreement runs through the 2027-28 school year.
Officials say it's an added layer of security for its youngest learners. Amid rising violence in schools across the nation, studies show parents are more scared now to send their children to school than ever before.
For parents like Jamie Gunn, who has a fifth grader at Haine Elementary, learning her son's school is adding more security is comforting.
"When you see how close it can hit to home, it can happen anywhere," Gunn said. "So, having that extra precaution makes me feel a little more at ease."
Within the next few weeks, parents will see resource officers at Haine, Rowan, Ehrman Crest and Connoquenessing elementary schools.
The roles of these officers will not only be visual deterrents, but they will also provide faster response times in the event something unfortunate occurs.
"A medical issue, a fight, or if we had an active intruder, an officer who is in the building is a faster response than what a patrol officer would be coming off the street," said Jason Young, supervisor of safety and security.
In addition to the resource officers, Young said the district is adding other lines of defense throughout the secondary and main campuses. They include a kiosk in building entries that allows the school to match a face to a driver's license, a vape detector in all restrooms and a weapons detector that will be used in all school buildings and at all after-school functions.
"Nothing is foolproof," Young said. "There's nothing that's going to be 100%, but when you start adding those layers that just increases your safety and security."
Parents say it's sad the way the world is now, but safety measures are extremely necessary to ensure students come home safely every day.
"It's definitely more of a normal situation nowadays for the kids," Gunn said.
