ATGLEN, Pa. – The Octorara Area School District board voted against using a $40,000 safe schools grant for an armed security officer on Tuesday.
The district was one of 36 in the state of Pennsylvania to be awarded the grant, which the school board rejected in a 5-4 vote. Board members said they would prefer to spend funds on other security measures, such as video surveillance, Lancaster Online reports.
If the board had approved the grant, the district would have been able to place an officer on duty at no cost for the remainder of the school year. It also would have offset the cost of the officer’s services next school year.
Many in the community were upset that the school board rejected the grant, as they had lobbied for an armed security officer for more than a year.
OASD Superintendent said he plans to initiate an online survey on more opinions about hiring a security officer and whether the officer should be armed.
