Commack school district to add armed guards in 2025-26, officials confirm
The Commack school district recently approved a contract for armed security guard services, starting in July. Credit: Rick Kopstein
The Commack school district plans to add armed guards at its eight elementary, middle and high schools starting next school year, district officials confirmed.
The school board unanimously approved a contract for Covert Investigations and Security in Ronkonkoma to provide "armed security guard services" during a board meeting in March, according to minutes and a video of the meeting. The contract starts July 1 and runs through June 30, 2026.
A total of $1,228,969 has been allocated for armed guards in the district's proposed 2025-26 budget, according to budget documents posted on the district website. The community will vote on the budget on Tuesday.
School officials confirmed the plan, but declined to comment further on Friday.
At least one district parent, in an interview with Newsday, applauded the move.
"I feel that by and large the majority of parents with children in the district, unfortunately because of the current climate and all of these tragedies we see happening across the country ... we felt that it was time to make that shift," said Heather Gordon, a mother of two children in the district.
A number of districts on Long Island began to consider adding armed guards in recent years following school shootings around the country, including the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed. Newsday reported last year that at least 20 districts had hired or were planning to add armed guards to their campuses. Several of those districts hired Covert, along with other security companies.
Covert employs active and retired law enforcement and is responsible for the day-to-day security management of about 155,000 students, according to their presentation at the meeting in March. The company is the largest provider of armed security personnel in K-12 schools on the Island, according to its website.
In Commack, the district plans to install one armed guard at each elementary school, as well as two each at the middle and high schools, officials said at the meeting.
The implementation of the program will include ongoing training with the current security staff, a technological surveillance platform and district-wide emergency response plans. Covert representatives said at the meeting they would conduct in-building trainings during times when students and staff are not present, such as summer break.
The Commack school district plans to add armed guards at its eight elementary, middle and high schools starting next school year, district officials confirmed.
The school board unanimously approved a contract for Covert Investigations and Security in Ronkonkoma to provide "armed security guard services" during a board meeting in March, according to minutes and a video of the meeting. The contract starts July 1 and runs through June 30, 2026.
A total of $1,228,969 has been allocated for armed guards in the district's proposed 2025-26 budget, according to budget documents posted on the district website. The community will vote on the budget on Tuesday.
School officials confirmed the plan, but declined to comment further on Friday.
At least one district parent, in an interview with Newsday, applauded the move.
"I feel that by and large the majority of parents with children in the district, unfortunately because of the current climate and all of these tragedies we see happening across the country ... we felt that it was time to make that shift," said Heather Gordon, a mother of two children in the district.
A number of districts on Long Island began to consider adding armed guards in recent years following school shootings around the country, including the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed. Newsday reported last year that at least 20 districts had hired or were planning to add armed guards to their campuses. Several of those districts hired Covert, along with other security companies.
Covert employs active and retired law enforcement and is responsible for the day-to-day security management of about 155,000 students, according to their presentation at the meeting in March. The company is the largest provider of armed security personnel in K-12 schools on the Island, according to its website.
In Commack, the district plans to install one armed guard at each elementary school, as well as two each at the middle and high schools, officials said at the meeting.
The implementation of the program will include ongoing training with the current security staff, a technological surveillance platform and district-wide emergency response plans. Covert representatives said at the meeting they would conduct in-building trainings during times when students and staff are not present, such as summer break.
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