Committee supports hiring of additional security guard for East Providence High School

Will be stationed at the rear entrance of the building

By Mike Rego
Posted 4/11/18

EAST PROVIDENCE — Recent tragic events nationally and a, thankfully, unsubstantiated bomb threat at East Providence High School have raised the sensitivities of district personnel, pupils and …

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Committee supports hiring of additional security guard for East Providence High School

Will be stationed at the rear entrance of the building

Posted

EAST PROVIDENCE — Recent tragic events nationally and a, thankfully, unsubstantiated bomb threat at East Providence High School have raised the sensitivities of district personnel, pupils and parents alike leading the school committee to adopt a proposal for enhanced security at the building following a vote of the board at its meeting Tuesday night, April 10.

Under the title “safety protocols,” Superintendent Kathryn Crowley and district security/facilities director Tony Feola recommended the hiring of a fully trained security guard to be posted at the back entrance of the high school, a heavily trafficked and heretofore seen as a vulnerable access point of the building.

The guard will be provided by APG Security, a regional firm with a Rhode Island base in Warwick and one the superintendent termed the “largest” of its kind in the state. The agreement with APG calls for the guard to work 40 hours and at a weekly sum of $969.60.

Both Superintendent Crowley and Mr. Feola said the agreement was on a “trial basis.” The guard will begin work when students return from the spring recess on Monday, April 23. The guard, similar to student resource officer provided by the East Providence Police Department, will be the same person for the remainder of the term through June. The superintendent noted the guard is trained specifically to interact with high school students.

Unlike EPPD SRO Doug Borden and at the specific behest of the administration, however, the guard will not be armed with a weapon of any kind — gun, mace, taser, etc.

Mr. Feola explained the guard in the event of an emergency would see himself as a “target,” to draw the attention of the perpetrator. And like EPHS admins and disciplinary deans, he would use a radio to communicate with Officer Borden and the proper authorities.

When asked how the guard would respond to a threat to his person, Mr. Feola said, “Is he going to defend himself from say a knife? I would hope so.”

Mr. Feola elaborated more on the duties of the guard. He will remain solely at the back entrance of the high school. He will not get involved in any fracases inside the building. He will stop visitors to it, inquire about their reason for access and certify it with the proper officials, be it nurses, administrators or their assistants.

“No one is entering the building until administrators have determined if they should be allowed,” Mr. Feola said.

Acknowledging some potential problems as the new entry procedure is implemented, Mr. Feola added, “We’ll work out the bugs, but it’s better than what we have now.”

Before taking the vote, committee members asked for specificity on a couple of key items of the agreement. Ward 3 representative Nate Cahoon sought clarity on issues of liability for the district while Ward 2 and 4 reps Tony Ferreira and Jessica Beauchaine, respectively, asked for a job description to be prepared for the guard position with duties clearly defined.

Of note as well, Superintendent Crowley addressed the March 29 false bomb threat at EPHS, lauding the efforts during the incident of the East Providence Police Department, Principal Shani Wallace and her staff, the central officer administrators and students.

“Everyone pitched in and did an outstanding job,” the superintendent said. She added, “We definitely learned from the experience and, though it hopefully never happens again, we will tweak our response a little.”

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.