This was a board meeting like no other. The final armed guards decision was tonight, and it sure showed. The meeting was moved to the high school to allow for the necessary space; the attendance was massive, and as opposed to the one kid usually in the audience (me), there was a whopping 8 of them.

The board meeting started off with the recognition of Nathaniel Wang as the Math Student of the Month. He entered Northport High School taking four AP classes and two IB classes. At the end of his senior year, he will have completed 13 AP classes, and has gotten the highest possible score on eight of the 10 tests he has taken.

The community was anxious to have their voice heard. Though there were a few comments on the large Pulaski Kindergarten sizes, the vast majority of the 36 speakers were talking on armed guards. Although many of the board members were undecided, the community’s leaning was obvious. Nine spoke in favor of armed guards, 27 spoke out against it. Of the eight students that spoke, five were against, two didn’t state, and only one was for. The comments section on its own lasted an hour and 45 minutes.

Then it was time for the board to start the fateful decision. President of the Board Rapiejko prefaced by recapping the lengthy process the Board has gone through to make sure they will make the best decision.

Then Trustee Stein made his motion. He wished for the Superintendent to begin the process of hiring 10 armed guards to be spread throughout the district for an 120 day period, with assessment after 90.  The guards would be retired cops whose training, Stein believes, did not dissolve with age.

Trustee Badanes was the first to speak about the motion. He was opposed to the armed guards, and cited some studies to back up the cost. Trustee McNaughton said this was the hardest decision she had to make, and she said that she would support the Board decision whatever it was, but she did not support his motion. Trustee Buscareno wanted to make certain to look at the security and the schools and assess it in other ways, and hopes that parents will inform their children on the importance of the lockdown drills, which any students here will know is treated as a joke by many. But,  she voted no on the motion. Trustee McCue thanks the community for the research sent in. She has heard people saying that there should be no set price on the safety of their children, and though she agreed in theory, she felt the cost was too high for such an uncertain outcome. Trustee Noonan started by thanking the community for all the emails they sent in. She talked about fostering a climate of community and inclusiveness, which she sees as an equal concern to some security breaches at the school mentioned by some at the meeting. She herself is against armed guards. President of the Board Rapiejko stated his background in science and numbers, and returns to the question of “What are you trying to protect?” He feels the potential help doesn’t balance out the risks. He also feels that retired police training can’t compare to the active police training, having been a police officer for a short time. He is against the institution of armed guards. The motion failed six against to one for.

After the vote, a five minute recess was called, in which most of the audience dissipated. The Board then voted to approve some financial reports, overnight travel with students,  the district’s policies on the education of homeless students, sexual harassments, and the school food program, as well as a few financial matters, and the meeting then adjourned.