FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – Mayor Anthony Ammiano said this week that municipal officials and school administrators are reviewing how security is being provided at schools in the community and what changes, if any, may be made.
School security has been the topic of renewed and vigorous interest among parents, school board members and school administrators since Feb. 14, after a gunman entered the campus of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and killed 17 people. Nikolas Cruz, 19, has been charged by law enforcement authorities in Broward County, Fla., with 17 counts of murder.
Freehold Township is home to elementary schools, middle schools and an early learning center operated by the Freehold Township K-8 School District, and to Freehold Township High School, which is operated by the Freehold Regional High School District.
Ammiano said municipal representatives have met with administrators from the two districts and will continue to monitor the way in which schools, students and staff members are being protected.
The mayor said he wanted to clear up misinformation that has been disseminated on social media regarding school security.
“The safety of the children in Freehold Township is of primary importance to everyone, including the Township Committee. It has been circulated that the township is unwilling to supply an officer in our schools, which is categorically false.
“It is impossible to avoid the onslaught of social media posts regarding the public outcry for armed personnel in our schools and as mayor, I have had discussions with the Freehold Township Board of Education and the superintendent of schools in the Freehold Regional High School District regarding their ideas for school security, and what they are currently considering with regard to having police officers in the schools,” Ammiano said.
“The Freehold Township school board and the Township Committee are finalizing an approach for dispersal of armed officers in a fashion which will not adversely impact the educational atmosphere, while at the same time proactively protecting the students and teaching staff.
“Freehold Township currently has had an armed police officer for many years in the (elementary and middle) schools, whose schedule and location is dictated entirely by the Board of Education. The officer’s salary is paid for by the board and he is supplied, equipped and trained by the township. If the board decides they want to expand this program, Freehold Township would immediately begin the hiring process to find additional officers.
“The same holds true for the regional district with regard to the high school. We have a meeting scheduled with the superintendent of schools (this) week in order to discuss security of the high school, and we stand ready to implement whatever plan the regional district has with the appropriate personnel. In this interim period, school patrol saturation has been, and will continue to be, a top priority,” Ammiano said.
