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Brownsville Area approves firearm training for security personnel

By Eric Morris emorris@heraldstandard.Com 3 min read

HILLER — The Brownsville Area School Board approved school district security officers to enroll in state Act 235 training, which certifies individuals to carry handgun-type firearms.

According to Superintendent Dr. Keith Hartbauer, three of the district’s six security personnel members have already obtained Act 235 certification. Last week’s board action will give the remaining three security employees the opportunity to complete the training.

Act 235 provides for the training and licensing of watch guards, protective patrolmen, and detectives and criminal investigators who carry and use lethal weapons in their employment.

Currently no Brownsville Area personnel are authorized to carry a firearm, which would need school board approval.

Hartbauer said the district has no immediate plans to arm its security guards. Act 235 certification is only the first step in that process, he said.

The superintendent said the district will follow the lead of its new security director, Michael Timko, who was hired Tuesday to supervise the district’s security team.

“Want to give (Timko) the chance to come in and get his feet on the ground, and if that is the direction he thinks we need to go in, that is the direction we will consider,” said Hartbauer, adding that the district would request community input if it considers arming its security.

“We’re going to train them, and then once they’re trained, the board will have to make a decision on whether we move towards arming guards or not,” Hartbauer said.

The training, administered by state police, comes at a cost to the district of $503 per person.

The board authorized the purchase of a third metal detector for the district to be stationed at the entrance of Brownsville Area Elementary School, equipping all three district buildings with detection capabilities once the machines arrive.

The purchase comes one month after 84 Lumber and Nemacolin Woodlands Resort owner Maggie Hardy Magerko donated $7,400 to the district to buy two metal detectors to be installed at the entrances of the middle school and high school buildings for the first time to enhance safety.

The elementary school metal detector was approved at a cost of $3,698.

The district invested an additional $1,590 into two handheld metal detection wands and various pieces of equipment to make the three metal detectors portable, so they can be used at athletic and other extracurricular events, said Hartbauer.

School directors also approved a district emergency response plan that was created in conjunction with various local municipal authorities and emergency response agencies to prepare for emergency situations.

Hartbauer said the district over the last several months developed guidelines to be implemented immediately for district personnel to follow when experiencing various emergency scenarios, including natural hazards, utility failures and violence, among others.

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