Three Village board reviews survey showing majority favor arming school guards; asks administration for detailed plans

The Three Village Central School District on Wednesday presented the results of a parent survey on whether to arm school security staff, and trustees asked administration to return with detailed options, cost estimates and school-by-school breakdowns before any decision.

Superintendent Dr. Kevin Scanlon told trustees the district received 864 responses to the survey and that 59.6% of respondents said they were in favor of arming guards. "We had 864 responses. Out of that, 59.6 are in favor of arming the guards. 40.4% are not in favor of arming the guards," Scanlon said. He added that of the 515 respondents who favored arming guards, 81.9% wanted guards both inside and outside school buildings, 16.3% wanted them only outside and the remainder wanted them only inside.

The board's discussion focused on tradeoffs, cost and the district's obligations. Board member Dr. Bach argued against introducing daily armed personnel into schools, saying the change would alter schools' character. "Having a daily armed presence changes the character of our schools," Bach said. He urged spending on counseling and mental health, saying those investments would better match the higher incidence of other student crises.

Trustee Dr. Lee asked about the budget impact of any option. "I would like to know the budget impact of implementing any of the options," Lee said. Trustee Raffy pressed for concrete scenarios and training and safety protocols before any vote: "We need to see succinct plans on exactly what something would look like ... the procedures and the training and the safety protocols that's going to happen." Several trustees asked administration to provide breakdowns of survey responses by elementary, middle and high school.

Trustees said the survey is one data point in a broader, ongoing review. Scanlon described the survey as "part of a robust investigation and conversation" and asked the board to give administration time to prepare operational scenarios. No formal policy change or vote to arm guards was taken at the meeting; trustees directed administration to prepare detailed scenarios, costs, training plans and school-level data for future consideration.

Next steps noted by the board included: administration preparing written scenarios (outside-only, inside-and-outside, and operational protocols), a fiscal impact analysis, and a more granular breakdown of survey respondents by school level. Trustees also emphasized additional community outreach and that further discussion will continue at later meetings.