Armed Guard in Schools is a Bad Idea [Letter]

To the Editor,

I read today ("Saucon Valley to Consider Placing Armed Officer on Campus," The Morning Call, Feb. 13, 2013) that Saucon Valley School District is contemplating the addition of an armed guard at its Polk Valley Road campus. The officer would cost the district $126,000, according to school board member, Ralph Puerta. An additional $3,100 would be required to install a new lock system and surveillance cameras at school entrances. Another $17,000 would be required to install bollards at entrances, to prevent forcible vehicular entry into the schools. These security measures will be considered as the board weighs the 2013-2014 budget. Total expenditure on the three security items is $146,100.

I'd like to go on public record (and I will do so at a school board meeting as well) as being opposed to the presence of an armed guard, not to mention the phenomenal cost in taxpayers' money of $126,000 to hire and maintain one.

I fully understand the reasoning behind the idea, but hope the district can come up with an alternative that a) keeps guns out of the school, no matter who is holstering them, and b) cuts the expenditures back about $100,000. As a taxpayer in the district, I will request to see all the line items that go into the unbelievable hiring cost of one armed guard.

Dennis Scholl

Hellertown