Armed guards coming to North Branford schools

NORTH BRANFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- Officials in North Branford are moving forward with their plans to put an armed guard in every school. Since the tragedy at Sandy Hook, police officers have been at the schools each day.

Many high schools across the state have had armed resource officers in place for decades, but in a town with just 2,000 students, putting armed guards in place at all of their schools, is a step they feel is necessary to provide some extra security and peace of mind for students, staff, and parents.

A police car sits outside of Totoket Valley School in North Branford. It's a temporary solution to what officials see as a long-term concern.

"I think they were very responsive," said Northford parent Mary Villano. "They were one of the first towns in the area to respond and wanna do something to protect our children, so I'm happy with that."

"They've loved having the police officers in the building," said Superintendent of Schools Scott Schoonmaker. "We've gotten numerous comments, 'Boy it'd be nice to keep them on', but obviously the cost factor."

School officials say armed guards are the perfect solution. For the cost of one officer, the town can hire three guards. Some parents wonder how effective it will really be.

"I don't know how secure it's gonna be. I mean, if it's gonna make that much of a difference," said Villano. "It's nice when you pull up to the school and see the police car sitting there, but my biggest concern is where's the money coming from?"

Superintendent Schoonmaker says their budget should be able to handle the additional employees. The town has agreed to help out if necessary.

The guards being hired all have previous experience in law enforcement and are going to be trained at the North Branford Police Department.

The guards must be retired police officers and have at least 10 years of experience. Fifty-five people applied for the open positions.

"We interviewed 12 individuals and hired 6, and we're going to conclude the process tomorrow afternoon," said Schoonmaker.

As for safety, Schoonmaker says the guards may not be able to stop a determined shooter, but they can hopefully save lives if someone gets inside.

"Once a person gets inside a building, you have someone there that's qualified and trained to interface with that intruder. And really buy you time until the law enforcement can get there, and that's what we're looking to do," said Schoonmaker.

Four full-time guards will be at the schools from 7 a.m until 2 p.m. and three part-time guards will be on site to monitor after school activities. The plan is to get them trained and have them at the schools within the next seven to 10 days.