Lindenhurst schools hire security coordinator in wake of stabbing
Brian Shanahan of Altaris Consulting Group delivers a presentation on security and emergency preparedness at the Lindenhurst school board meeting Wednesday. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
The Lindenhurst school board has approved a contract to hire a coordinator to step up security efforts in the wake of a stabbing in Lindenhurst Middle School last month that left a 13-year-old critically injured.
Since the stabbing, officials said the number of security guards at the middle school has increased from three to five. The new hire, approved Wednesday, would coordinate activities of the guards and investigate incidents, according to the agreement.
“To have someone who's solely dedicated to security on these nine campuses is something that would really bolster and align what we do here to have consistencies in practices,” district Superintendent Anthony J. Davidson told a crowd of about 150 people at Wednesday's board meeting.
It was the first one since the March 27 incident in which a 12-year-old allegedly stabbed another student in a school hallway.
District officials declined to comment on disciplinary actions against the 12-year-old, who was arraigned in Family Court, but have said the victim has since been released from the hospital.
Altaris Consulting Group, a Yorktown Heights-based company, will provide the coordinator. Under the agreement, the services cost $21,098 and are to last from May 1 through June 30, totaling 35 workdays. School officials didn’t say when the on-site coordinator would begin.
School board president Donna Hochman said the coordinator offers another level of security and the board would reevaluate when the agreement ends.
"We always have the opportunity to look at other security firms, get ideas, and maybe expand it or go in a different direction," she said. "But at least now we're putting something in place."
The scope of agreement was approved by a 5-1 vote with Gabrielle Anzalone dissenting. Two board members, Ed Langone and Mary Ellen Cunningham, were absent.
“It's putting a bandage on a bullet wound,” Anzalone said. “I would love to see 20 grand spent on revising our policy handling bullying issues and making sure that when a kid has a problem, they know where to go and that adults will follow through on that issue.”
The vote came at the end of a contentious meeting where some parents shouted comments, yelled questions and criticized the board. Many said bullying was a long-standing issue. The scene became so chaotic that the board temporarily adjourned the meeting.
The district reported nine cases of discrimination, harassment and bullying in 2020-21, the most recent year available in state data, though the number is likely skewed due to pandemic disruptions. In 2018-19, the number was 55, and 43 of them were reported in the middle school.
Jeannie Sailer, who spoke at the meeting, said Thursday that the numbers were an undercount. “The bullying situation is rampant,” said Sailer, the mother of an eighth-grader.
Davidson said at the meeting that the district this year alone has worked with the Long Island Coalition Against Bullying and taken other anti-bullying steps. Over the last few years, he said, the district bolstered mental health staff and development of programs and curricula that focused on student social-emotional wellness.
Lindenhurst PTA Council president Tina Hutter encouraged people to get involved in the local PTAs, youth organizations and community groups.
“In a school district with well over 5,000 students enrolled, I see the same 30 faces at the council meetings,” she wrote in a statement Thursday. “I think more involvement on every level could be made so we are not just reactionary to these situations.”
The Lindenhurst school board has approved a contract to hire a coordinator to step up security efforts in the wake of a stabbing in Lindenhurst Middle School last month that left a 13-year-old critically injured.
Since the stabbing, officials said the number of security guards at the middle school has increased from three to five. The new hire, approved Wednesday, would coordinate activities of the guards and investigate incidents, according to the agreement.
“To have someone who's solely dedicated to security on these nine campuses is something that would really bolster and align what we do here to have consistencies in practices,” district Superintendent Anthony J. Davidson told a crowd of about 150 people at Wednesday's board meeting.
It was the first one since the March 27 incident in which a 12-year-old allegedly stabbed another student in a school hallway.
District officials declined to comment on disciplinary actions against the 12-year-old, who was arraigned in Family Court, but have said the victim has since been released from the hospital.
Altaris Consulting Group, a Yorktown Heights-based company, will provide the coordinator. Under the agreement, the services cost $21,098 and are to last from May 1 through June 30, totaling 35 workdays. School officials didn’t say when the on-site coordinator would begin.
School board president Donna Hochman said the coordinator offers another level of security and the board would reevaluate when the agreement ends.
"We always have the opportunity to look at other security firms, get ideas, and maybe expand it or go in a different direction," she said. "But at least now we're putting something in place."
The scope of agreement was approved by a 5-1 vote with Gabrielle Anzalone dissenting. Two board members, Ed Langone and Mary Ellen Cunningham, were absent.
“It's putting a bandage on a bullet wound,” Anzalone said. “I would love to see 20 grand spent on revising our policy handling bullying issues and making sure that when a kid has a problem, they know where to go and that adults will follow through on that issue.”
The vote came at the end of a contentious meeting where some parents shouted comments, yelled questions and criticized the board. Many said bullying was a long-standing issue. The scene became so chaotic that the board temporarily adjourned the meeting.
The district reported nine cases of discrimination, harassment and bullying in 2020-21, the most recent year available in state data, though the number is likely skewed due to pandemic disruptions. In 2018-19, the number was 55, and 43 of them were reported in the middle school.
Jeannie Sailer, who spoke at the meeting, said Thursday that the numbers were an undercount. “The bullying situation is rampant,” said Sailer, the mother of an eighth-grader.
Davidson said at the meeting that the district this year alone has worked with the Long Island Coalition Against Bullying and taken other anti-bullying steps. Over the last few years, he said, the district bolstered mental health staff and development of programs and curricula that focused on student social-emotional wellness.
Lindenhurst PTA Council president Tina Hutter encouraged people to get involved in the local PTAs, youth organizations and community groups.
“In a school district with well over 5,000 students enrolled, I see the same 30 faces at the council meetings,” she wrote in a statement Thursday. “I think more involvement on every level could be made so we are not just reactionary to these situations.”
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.