Copyright Hartford Courant
The Bristol Public Schools Policy Committee is considering a policy Wednesday that would permit armed security personnel in the city’s schools. If approved by the Policy Committee and the Bristol Board of Education, Bristol would join districts such as Ellington and Derby, which employ armed security guards in schools. The armed security guards are retired police officers who have separated from the department in good standing, according to state statute. Police officials say that the armed security guards are required to receive yearly firearms training. “This proposed policy aims to allow for a phase in implementation, beginning next school year with our director of school safety and security, who would be the first to carry a firearm under clearly defined guidelines and training requirements,” said Bristol Superintendent Iris White in an email. “Any future expansion of armed security presence would be carefully planned and aligned with our district’s budget, safety priorities and community input. This process will comply with all state and local regulations.” White said further in an email that the policy was recommended and supported by the Bristol Police Department as part of “our ongoing commitment to ensuring a safe and secure learning environment for all students and staff.” White said that the school district in the middle and high schools have School Resource Officers in place who will remain. “SROs are employees of the Bristol Police Department,” White said. “The armed guards under discussion would be BPS employees.” Shelby Pons, chair of the Bristol Board of Education, said in an email that “a recent Facebook post about this policy drew strong support from community members, many saying it’s about time. “As a parent, I understand that families want to do everything they can to keep students and educators safe at school,” Pons said. “The Board has a responsibility to listen to the community and revise our policies when necessary, especially as we navigate difficult topics like this one.” Deputy Police Chief Robert Osborne said Bristol Police Department would provide the training for armed security personnel regarding use of force as well as provide de-escalation training. Rep. Greg Howard, R-Stonington, a police detective, said with the world becoming more violent “you are going to continue to see school districts hiring retired police officers in good standing. “These are very good people,” he said. “They retired in good standing. Their physical abilities are still sharp. We have so many people leaving the profession of law enforcement now because of the culture of it. You have a bigger pool for these schools to choose from of good people that just didn’t want to be cops anymore and want to take a job like that where they can fulfill their God-given need to protect others and they can do it in a cost-effective way for the municipality.” Rep. Michael Digiovancarlo D-Waterbury, vice chair of the state’s Public Safety and Security committee, said he is a firm believer in SROs and armed security guards in schools. “It is a great way to keep our kids safe,” he said. DiGiovancarlo said some smaller towns are shifting to armed security guards at schools to cut expenses and because they can’t afford to lose manpower in police departments with staffing shortages. Patrice McCarthy, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, said it is important that school districts ensure that armed security personnel have “enough training in de-escalation” and social and emotional awareness. Ellington Superintendent Scott Nicol said Ellington has had three armed school security officers for the past few years. “One is a former police chief of Vernon and the other two are former police officers that are retired,” he said, adding that in addition the district has one SRO. He said the school security officers are able to interact with kids in K-12 on a regular basis. “What we want for all of our kids is to have good relationships with adults and that includes teachers, administrators, paraeducators and school security officers,” he said. “The better relationships our children can have with adults in positive ways, the better that is going to pay off in society.” Nicol said having the former police chief serve as a school security officer has been beneficial in understanding large-scale emergency processes and procedures. “It is great to have that caliber of expertise in our district,” he said. He said he has heard of more districts starting to have conversations around armed school security officers. “I would encourage them to make sure it is a local decision,” he said. White said the Policy Committee meeting Wednesday is open to the public and that she welcomes “community voice in this critical dialogue.” The meeting begins at 6 p.m at the Board of Education Auditorium at 129 Church St. in Bristol.
