Just four short years ago, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting tragedy happened in nearby Connecticut. Active shooters in schools have increasingly become an issue throughout the country, with a greater number of incidents occurring each year.

In response to this, many schools have been instituting new policies to introduce a safer and more secure school environment. Pascack Valley is the most recent to follow this trend.

In order to protect PV students, district administrators hired two security officers to monitor the halls of PV and installed 35 security cameras. And now there’s a new addition: guns.

The new policy states that school security guards will each carry a firearm as authorized by the Board of Education and Superintendent Erik Gundersen.

The policy passed on Nov. 7, allowing all security officers in the Pascack Valley District to be able to carry a weapon with them on school grounds. The policy was effective immediately, and the guards have been carrying weapons since the morning of Nov. 8.

Instituting the policy happened in two steps. The general policy allowing the officers to carry weapons was passed first. Then, the Board of Education reviewed the officer’s criteria in order to approve and give permission for each individual officer to carry a weapon. The superintendent of the State Police also authorized the officers to carry a weapon.

The idea of security guards in PV district schools was introduced only five years ago. It began with a private company hired to place unarmed security officers in Pascack Valley.

However, a year later the decision was made to hire retired police officers to work in Pascack Valley schools because they already had experience working a similar job.

“We hired local retired police officers to fill the role,” Gundersen said, “with discussion all along about whether or not there would be benefits or drawbacks to arming these security officers.”

The new policy states that the school district will not own any firearms. Rather, each officer is responsible for owning and caring for their own firearm, which must be approved by the local police department.

The individual carrying the weapon must pass a semi-annual exam. Officers with the weapon must be trained in active shooter protocol and the Security Officer Registration Act, which details the role of a security guard.

The purpose of this policy is to increase the safety at Pascack Valley as a response to the constant threat of active shooters in schools. The policy will equip security officers with weapons to be able to protect students, staff, and visitors in the case of an emergency.

Before this policy was introduced, PV was more vulnerable to active shooters. With only zip-tie handcuffs and pepper spray, officers did not have much at their disposal to handle a situation involving a gun within the school.

Currently, the two security officers stationed in Pascack Valley are former Police Captain Michael Niego and former Police Chief Chip Stalter. The two officers have over fifty years of experience in law enforcement between them.

Niego worked for the Hillsdale Police Department for 27 years. He worked as a patrolman for eight years and a detective sergeant for 11 years. His last eight years were spent as a lieutenant and a captain.

“When it comes to protection here,” Niego said, “[carrying weapons] is a necessary evil with all that has been going on in the country with school shootings and school violence.”

Statler also worked as a police officer for 30 years in the Hillsdale Police Department. Among his duties, Statler worked as a D.A.R.E. officer and visited students in schools to teach about drug resistance and awareness.

“We are given a tool that is only going to be used if there was the ultimate assault on a school where someone came in with a gun and other’s lives were in danger,” Statler said.

The main job of a guard is to oversee the general safety of PV along with the welfare of the students and staff inside. On a daily basis, the duties of a security officer include walking the hallways, assisting parents and guests when they first arrive, helping students and administration, monitoring security cameras, and checking doors.

One security guard is always at the desk near the main entrance, which is unlocked during school hours, and the other is monitoring the halls.

Stalter and Niego believe that the policy gives them a better opportunity to serve the school.

“If the ultimate offense happened with someone coming into PV with a gun, that’s when we would feel unsafe and there would be an issue,” Stalter said. “We would be very limited as to what we could do [without a gun].”

Both officers view the new policy as insurance that could be used if needed, but hopefully will never get to that point. They feel that even though they now carry weapons, the idea of possessing a gun isn’t always on their mind and is not going to affect their jobs.

“Nothing is changing how I am going to do my job,” Stalter said.

Gundersen explained that the new policy will not cause the faculty to teach any differently, the students to learn any differently, and the security officers to behave any differently. The policy is a way to ensure that if something did happen, PV would be readily equipped to handle the situation.

“I don’t think [the policy] is going to change the overall culture or climate of Pascack Valley,” he said.