East Penn proposes unarmed school security officers at middle schools; board questions training, role and hiring

East Penn administrators outlined a proposal to hire unarmed school security officers (SSOs) to work at each middle school, describing the positions as district employees trained to support safety, build relationships with students, and respond to incidents — not as school resource officers or police.

Superintendent Dr. Campbell framed the proposal as a response to limited local law-enforcement capacity to provide SROs and emphasized the district is seeking safety personnel who are “not SROs, and they are not police officers.” The presentation said the district has budgeted roughly $400,000 in the current budget for middle-level safety personnel and intends the SSO roles to be district employees who would receive specialized training.

Principals and administrators described the intended day-to-day work: visible presence at bus lots, dismissal and hot spots such as stairwells and bathrooms; building relationships with students and parents; supporting restorative-practice teams; assisting in incident response and initial investigations in coordination with building administrators; and helping with medical responses and drills. The presenters said the security officers would complete SRO training modules (a one-week SRO training and the 17 components referenced in Act 67) plus first aid, CPR/AED and CPI de‑escalation training.

Board members raised concerns about role clarity, screening and onboarding. Members asked how SSOs would interface with restorative practice, who would lead searches, how teachers should interact with the officers, and whether the district would settle for a suboptimal candidate in order to hire quickly. Administrators replied the principal/administration would lead searches, SSOs would support but not supplant restorative practices, a multi-stage hiring process with reference checks would be used, and onboarding and ongoing training would be emphasized.

Administration described the SSO plan as an initial step toward the long-term goal of SROs at each building when law‑enforcement staffing permits; no vote was taken and the board asked administrators to return with more details and timeline estimates.