Parent starts petition to have police officers in every school building following threat

Some Canon-McMillian parents say they need police in their schools now more than ever.

This urgency is coming just days after police charged a parent with making a violent threat at Hills Hendersonville Elementary.

The school emailed parents on Friday, saying it was a parent who threatened to "shoot up" the building.

Cecil Township police arrested Amanda Jarosh and charged her with terroristic threats.

Now just three days later, a petition is going around, started by a parent in the district.

It calls on the superintendent to hire a police officer for every school in the district saying, “Unfortunately, we are living in a world where we need to be proactive in protecting our children from harm in their schools and we do not think anyone can argue that the demand for a school police officer in every school is now among us.”

Superintendent Michael Daniels told Channel 11 he wasn't aware of the petition but does appreciate all feedback from parents and the community.

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He said the district currently has a full-time police officer only at the three largest buildings and he would station one in every building if financially possible. He also said discussions are already on the table to re-prioritize finances and there will be more discussions.

However, the administration cannot make the recommendation to the school board for approval unless the resources are available.

And while this elementary school is not one of the three with a full-time police officer, there was a Cecil Township officer there all day Monday.

Daniels said Cecil, North Strabane and Canonsburg police patrol all of the school buildings often.

Cox Media Group