As renovation plans begin to take shape for most of North Pocono School District's buildings, the district is seeking input on how to improve safety measures.
After the December elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., communities throughout the nation have begun discussing the need for increased security at schools. For North Pocono, that discussion will formally begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Intermediate School's library.
School board member Bill Burke said the meeting will involve an "open discussion on how much security we're going to have in our school buildings." The meeting is open to the public, and leaders in the municipalities in the North Pocono School District are expected to attend.
Board members have said North Pocono High School, built in 2009 in Covington Twp., has adequate security, including a "holding area" at the building's entrance where a teacher, principal or other staff member meets visitors who want admission to the building.
Four schools involved
But board members have said security at the district's four other schools could be improved. Renovations will begin this summer and are planned to continue each summer until 2015.
Discussion at Tuesday's school security meeting will include a range of topics, such as the need for additional security guards at the school and how long security upgrades will take in the renovation schedule, Mr. Burke said.
Two security officers work for the district, and officials haven't indicated whether that number will increase.
For Tom Yerke, vice president of the Covington Twp. Board of Supervisors, the answer is simple.
"I think there should be a cop in every school," said Mr. Yerke, who plans to attend Tuesday's meeting.
Mr. Yerke, whose grandchild attends school in the district, said school leaders should ensure that children are safe, even if that means increasing personnel at facilities.
"There's no dollar amount you can put on kids to protect them," he said. "I'd support an increase in taxes to protect the kids."
Funding an issue
With school safety remaining on the minds of local, state and federal officials, Gov. Tom Corbett included funding options for school safety and security as part of his plan to sell the state liquor store system.
However, that funding solution is far from guaranteed and has unanswered questions, such as how long it would be available. Currently, when municipal police officers work at the North Pocono School District, the municipalities bill the district for police services.
Marc Gaughan, a councilman for Moscow and a retired North Pocono Middle School teacher, said increased school safety is an important conversation needed in the community. However, he hesitated to say more security officers should be placed at the schools, citing proximity to the Moscow Police Department.
"I think they can be there very quickly," Mr. Gaughan said. "But it's important for the community to discuss it."
Contact the writer: rward@timesshamrock.com, @rwardTT on Twitter