Plum Councilman Says Borough, School Officials Need to Talk About Safety

A Plum councilman says borough officials are willing to meet with school district officials to discuss safety plans.

At Tuesday's school board meeting, Councilman Keith Nowalk addressed the board, saying there needs to be an open dialogue about safety in school buildings following last week's mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT—20 first grade students and six staff members were killed.

The district currently has one school resource officer—Plum police officer Mark Kost—stationed at the high school.

Nowalk said the borough administration already has been directed to open up a dialogue with district administration and the Plum Police Department to "address, improve and ensure every student and teacher's safety.

"This dialogue needs to be real, it needs to be effective and it needs to be ASAP…We as elected servants need to stay ahead of the criminal curve."

Nowalk said that while having an officer at each school would be a "huge financial accomplishment," it will be a topic of discussion among officials.

"There are so many avenues we can pursue so that someone in each school could equally defend against armed intruders," he said.

Board members didn't address the matter, and Superintendent Timothy Glasspool said he did not want to comment at this time. In the meantime, the staff is reviewing the current safety plan and links to help children cope with school violence is available on the district website.

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