More than 70,000 students in Long Island schools will soon be protected by armed guards as districts ramp up security following the 2018 mass shooting.
At least 17 districts already have armed guards in their schools and there are more plans to add them, according to a Newsday analysis.
Schools have increased their security following the devastating mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas School in Parkland, Florida.
Gunman Nikolas Cruz, then 19 years old, killed 14 students and three teachers during his six-minute attack on February 14, 2018.
The decision to install armed guards on campuses is controversial, with parents questioning whether resources would be better spent on mental health programs.
At least 17 districts already have armed guards in their schools and there are more plans to add them, according to a Newsday analysis
Schools have increased security following the 2018 shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas School
Long Island parishes, from the largest, including Smithtown and Half Hollow Hills, to the smallest, including Montauk and Tuckahoe, have already brought in armed guards.
Two other districts, Farmingdale and Rocky Point, plan to add guards.
In total, the districts cover more than 70,000 students.
The associated costs vary greatly depending on the number of guards needed, the size of the district, and the contractor used.
In Half Hollow Hills, the estimated cost for a private company is $1 million a year, while in West Islip, which uses its own employees, the additional cost for 12 armed guards is about $100,000 a year.
The number of schools with armed guards has increased dramatically over the past six years, according to the analysis, and more schools have stepped up security in the wake of the devastating mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Many parents and teachers disagree with the decision and say the money spent on armed guards would be better spent on preventive measures, including mental health support in schools.
Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, told Newsday: “If it were a perfect world, we wouldn’t have to worry about this, but we do.”
And he added: “It is a sad reality, but it is reality.”
In Half Hollow Hills, the estimated cost for a private security company is $1 million a year.
Costs vary greatly depending on the number of guards, the size of the district and the contractor using the area.
Cruz’s massacre is the deadliest mass shooting ever prosecuted in the US.
Cruz’s jury could not unanimously agree that he deserved the death penalty. The 24-year-old former Stoneman Douglas student was sentenced to life in prison.
During the three-month trial, prosecutors had argued that Cruz’s crime was both premeditated and heinous and cruel, which are among the criteria Florida law sets for deciding a death sentence.
Cruz’s defense team acknowledged the seriousness of his crimes, but asked jurors to consider his lifelong mental health disorders resulting from his biological mother’s substance abuse during pregnancy.
During their seven hours of deliberation, jurors asked only for a rereading of one testimony: the prosecution’s cross-examination of a defense psychologist who said Cruz suffers from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
They later asked to see the AR-15 that Cruz used in the shootings.
Nikolas Cruz appears in security footage inside the school in 2018 when he went on a rampage
People leave Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after the shooting.
Cruz had said he chose Valentine’s Day to make it impossible for Stoneman Douglas students to celebrate the holiday again.
Almost exactly a year before the rampage, he bought his AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle and his planning became serious about seven months in advance as he researched previous mass shooters, saying he tried to learn from their experience.
In his guilty plea, he said he was “very sorry” and asked to be given the opportunity to help others.
The shooting shocked the nation and reignited the debate over gun control, as Cruz had legally purchased the gun he used despite his history of mental problems.
On March 24, 2018, nationwide marches inspired by school shooting survivors and parents of victims brought together 1.5 million people—the largest public turnout ever seen in support of stricter gun control laws in USA.