A Staten Island education committee voted last night to demand that the city’s schools be guarded by gun-toting lawmen, in a desperate bid to beef up security in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., massacre.
The Communication Education Council for District 31 last night approved the high-caliber proposal with a vote of 9-1.
The council called for the Department of Education to hire 300 to 500 retired NYPD cops to rove 1,750 city schools in all boroughs and install buzzer-entry systems with video and “panic buttons” at main entrances.
The vote doesn’t have any binding effect on the DOE — which has made it clear that it does not want armed guards in schools. But the vote showed the amount of support the idea of armed guards — put forth last month by NRA boss Wayne LaPierre — has in some parts of the Big Apple.
“I just want my daughters to be safe in school,” said Aaron Bogad, 44, whose three daughters attend PS 5. “If the kids will be safer, retired officers with guns might be the answer. Would I be 100 percent against it? If it kept my kids safe . . . no.”
Sal Farino, 47, believes guns should be in the classroom — and not just in the hands of cops, but of teachers.
“I think all the teachers should have guns,” he sad. “If crazy people knew teachers had guns, they would think twice about their actions.
“And to have trained officers with guns would be awesome. They should wear them in plain view. This way, the kids feel safe.”
Mark D’Avino trusts his three kids, who are enrolled in city schools, would be safer in the hands of New York’s Finest.
“I don’t see it as putting guns in the schools. Let’s talk about the person behind the guns. They’re trained professionals. They’ve been in the streets for 20 years fighting crime,” said D’Avino.
“As a parent, I would feel safer knowing armed retired police officers were patrolling our schools. These are our kids. They should feel just as safe at school as they do at home.”
While most of the 60 parents at the 2 1/2-hour meeting at The Michael J. Petrides School praised the proposal, others were not happy at the thought of having guns in the hallways.
“I think the idea is foolhardy. It’s not a good way to do it,” said Loretta Prisco, a retired Staten Island teacher.
“Some schools have as many as seven exits and entrances. That means seven guns in a school.
“I don’t think they’re trained to do that work. At a time when there’s mass confusion, you don’t want anyone shooting.”
City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott made clear he is not in favor of armed guards. He said earlier yesterday that the vote was “meaningless” because the advisory council can only make recommendations to the school board.