Bundled in their winter coats, students hopped off their buses and walked past an armed police officer standing at the entrance to Riverside Elementary West last week.
The students gave Patrolman Michael Burke high-fives. He kept an eye on the door.
Just one month ago, there was no officer at the school's entrance. But on Dec. 14, a gunman murdered 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
Suddenly, the safety of students across the country, and in Northeast Pennsylvania, was questioned.
The Riverside School Board voted during Christmas break to add the armed officers to its junior-senior high school and two elementary schools. Riverside is the only district in Lackawanna County to permanently place armed police officers, called school resource officers, in its elementary schools.
The move comes as educators assess security measures nationwide and after the National Rifle Association recommended, one week after the Newtown shooting, to put an armed guard in every school in the country.
Nine of 10 Lackawanna County districts have armed school resource officers in their high schools. With about 30 schools, mostly elementary and middle schools, without officers, it could cost the county's districts at least $1.2 million annually to have officers in their schools.
Educators are evaluating whether they need armed officers and are trying to find the balance of ensuring the safety of their students, with adding measures taxpayers can afford.
Scranton School District Superintendent William King estimates it would cost $550,000 to add armed officers to the city's elementary schools.
"I know that everyone says you can't put a price tag on a life, and that's absolutely the truth," he said. "I don't know where we get $550,000 to make something like that happen."
Evaluating need
Riverside is spending $45,000 to have the three officers stationed in schools through the rest of the school year. The amount each district pays varies largely on agreements with area police departments and whether the officers are full-time or part-time employees. Most districts spend between $20,000 and $50,000 per officer.
As Patrolman Burke, a Taylor officer, stood in the entryway on Thursday, he greeted students and questioned visitors.
"You get a sense of security that's immediate," Principal Paul Brennan said. "You can tell a lot about a school in the first 10 to 20 steps you take."
Along with guarding the entrance, patrolling hallways and making sure exit doors are secure, the officers will serve as role models and help with programming, Riverside Superintendent David Woods said. Officers often plan anti-drug or other safety programs for children.
After the tragedy in Newtown, Mr. Woods met with Taylor and Moosic police chiefs, school directors and other community members.
"It kept coming back to one thing: response time of police," Mr. Woods said. "And no matter how well trained our teaching staff is, that's not their primary function."
An armed officer will also act as a deterrent, Mr. Woods said.
Riverside's neighbor, the Old Forge School District, is the only district in the county without an officer at the high school level. Two unarmed monitors patrol the hallways, and an attendance officer, used to visit homes when students are truant, also monitors the high school and its parking lot, Superintendent R. Scott Jeffery said.
An armed officer being in a school does not make a student's safety absolute, he said. Walk-throughs of the district's buildings by Old Forge Police may start, and all of the safety measures inside the schools are being evaluated, Mr. Jeffery said.
High costs
The Scranton School District has officers in its two high schools and three intermediate schools. The district pays for half of the $50,000 cost for each officer, with the Scranton Police Department paying the other half. Adding 11 officers to the district's elementary schools would cost $550,000.
"In an ideal world, I'd love to have a school resource officer at every single one of our schools," Mr. King said. "The large challenge is to come up with the funding for that."
The Carbondale Area School District pays the city of Carbondale about $25,000 a year for one school resource officer, Acting Superintendent David Cerra said. The location of the elementary school, adjacent to the high school, provides easy access for the resource officer in case she is needed, Mr. Cerra said.
Renovations to the high school, including new doors, provide secure entryways, and the district is now discussing additional security measures the Police Department can provide, Mr. Cerra said.
North Pocono is considering adding officers, Superintendent Bryan McGraw said. The district now has two officers, at the cost of about $40,000 each. Mr. McGraw refused to name the schools in which the officers are located.
Considering options
Valley View has one officer who is stationed in the high school and middle school, which are connected. The officer's presence acts as a deterrent to quell disturbances that could happen inside the schools, such as a fight, Superintendent Donald Kanavy said.
Valley View also is evaluating security in its buildings. Adding another officer may be discussed by the school board, but the added presence does not guarantee total security, Mr. Kanavy said.
Dunmore also has one full-time officer, who is now spending time in both of the district's buildings, Superintendent Richard McDonald said. The cost for the officer is about $35,000, he said. Mid Valley has two part-time school resource officers, who ensure someone is present at the district each day. The position is stationed at the secondary center, but the officers also have been spending time at the adjacent elementary school. Superintendent Randy Parry said. About 75 percent of the cost is paid by the district, and the other portion, including benefits, is paid by Throop, he said. The need for an additional officer is being reviewed, Mr. Parry said.
Abington Heights has one officer stationed at the high school, and adding additional officers is unlikely, Superintendent Michael Mahon, Ph.D. said. Additional safety measures are planned, but officers are not the only solution, he said.
A resource officer has been at Lakeland's junior-senior high school since early last year, and police also now have a presence at the district's two elementary schools, Superintendent Margaret Billings-Jones, Ed.D., said. For this school year, the district has budgeted $28,800 for the Scott Twp. officer at the junior-senior school.
The police presence at the elementary schools may be temporary, and the decision on whether to make the positions permanent must be made by the school board. To keep the officer at Lakeland Elementary through the remainder of the school year, the district must spend $8,240. At Mayfield Elementary, the borough's police chief has been at the school daily and has the use of an office there, Dr. Billings-Jones said.
On Friday, Kevin Haggerty, D-112, Dunmore, announced plans to introduce legislation to fund officers for elementary schools. The bill would not be a mandate to districts, but funding would be available for districts that choose to hire an officer. Subsidies for child care centers would also be made available. Mr. Haggerty has also called on the Pennsylvania delegation in Congress to enact a similar bill for schools nationwide.
"These are the most vulnerable kids," he said.
Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com, @hofiushallTT on Twitter