The Town and school officials have agreed to a expanded security plan that will dedicate a total of 18 armed and unarmed guards to protect the District's schools. Once again, realization that good guys with guns are the best defense against bad guys with guns.
The Newstimes reports the above:
NEWTOWN -- School and town leaders have forged a partnership for a new school security model that will provide a combination of 18 armed and unarmed security guards for the seven district schools.
That total does not include the existing two school resource officers at the middle school and high school and a youth officer at Reed Intermediate School.
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Two armed officers will be provided to the Sandy Hook Elementary students temporarily housed in a former middle school in Monroe. This year, Monroe has provided the in-school officers as well as officers to patrol the perimeter.
The school board voted Tuesday night to approve this new town and school partnership. The Board of Selectmen is expected to do so at its next meeting.
Find out what's happening in Newtownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The cost for the new program will be nearly divided between the town and schools, with the expense for the armed officers who are retired police officers hired for the 183-day school year to be incorporated into the town budget and the unarmed security officers paid for through the school budget.
The total cost for the program is $564,169 of which $279,380 will be included in the town's expenses. The Police Department budget also includes another $218,000 for the school resource and youth officers.
Can anyone remember the scorn and venom hissed at NRA head Wayne Lapierre back in the days after the massacre when he said "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun"? It was at that first NRA press conference after the attack that the NRA announced the "National School Shield" training program to help — at no cost — schools train security personnel and develop security plans.
Lapierre was skewered by dozens of pundits and gun control types as well as hundreds of citizens. Yet here we are, barely a year after the massacre, and the collective wisdom of the Newtown civil and educational leadership is that resource officers, including those who are armed, is an effective program for school safety.
I am waiting for CAGV and March for Change to come out against this plan that will lead to more guns in Newtown Schools - I just won't be holding my breath while I wait.
