East Quogue school switches to armed guards
Superintendent / Principal Michael Miller said the school board approved the measure to arm security staff this summer after a year of study by the district safety committee. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
The East Quogue school system has employed armed security staff at its one school building, officials said, marking yet another small Long Island district to place a guard with a gun on campus.
The East End district, which serves about 400 students in grades K-6 in a single schoolhouse, brought in armed guards at the start of the school year on Sept. 3, said Michael Miller, the district's superintendent and principal.
"If ever something takes place, we'll have someone on campus who can save valuable time before the police arrive," said Miller, adding that the school board approved the measure this summer after a year of study by the district safety committee.
Jason Davin, a member of the safety committee, said while he understands armed school guards can be controversial, he supports the measure to make the school building safer.
Davin, who has two children in the school, noted that a decadeslong string of school shootings continues to plague this country, with several occurring in small communities. He pointed to the high school shooting last week in Winder, Georgia, that killed two students and two teachers.
"Seconds matter when it comes to school shootings. I would prefer for somebody to be there, ready to go," he said.
East Quogue has three security staff — all retired police officers — on duty during the school day, and two for after-school and nighttime events such as board meetings, Davin said. No new security staff will be brought on board, but one officer will be armed during the day and evening. Only one officer will be armed at a time, and the officers will rotate who has the gun. Their handgun will be concealed so as not to create anxiety among the students and staff, he said.
The arming of the guards will cost the district a total of $75,000 a year, about $40,000 more than it already had spent on the officers. The district is contracting Arrow Security to manage the arming of the guards, including training and certification, Miller said.
School board member Briana Gladding, who has two children in the school, said, "One of the most important things is keeping children physically safe. ... This is a great opportunity to teach kids to run toward the person in uniform, not away."
Christopher Hudson, the school board president, said an armed guard will add another layer of protection at the school, which has a security vestibule, buttons that lock down classrooms, and classroom doors that require an electronic card entry.
The district is considering adding security panic buttons that alert law enforcement of danger, Miller said. School officials used those during the Georgia shooting, law enforcement officials there said.
East Quogue is among about 20 Island districts, out of 124, that have brought in armed security guards, including several smaller districts, said Robert Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association. Other smaller districts that have armed security staff include Montauk, Tuckahoe and East Moriches.
"We're certainly seeing an increase in districts with armed guards over the past five years," Vecchio said. "It's definitely a growing trend."
Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
