DUBOIS – At its meeting Monday night, the DuBois City Council heard about the changes to school security within the DuBois Area School District.
Earlier in the day, City Manager John “Herm” Suplizio and Solicitor Toni Cherry attended a hearing in regards to the appointment of school police officers for the DASD. The hearing took place before Clearfield County President Judge Fredric Ammerman.
According to Suplizio and Cherry, the DASD will have its own school police officers. The officers, they said, will be armed but will neither have any authority or power to make arrests nor to issue citations.
“I don’t know what the school district is trying to tell its citizens and the taxpayers for the entire district. For me, it was a huge, huge, letdown for the taxpayers and the citizens of DuBois,” said Suplizio.
Cherry presented members of the media with the petition to the Court of Common Pleas of Clearfield County by DASD Solicitor R. Edward Ferraro. The petition wanted the school police officers to have the following powers and authority:
- to enforce good order in schools buildings, buses and property;
- to direct, control and regulate traffic on school grounds and on roadways near school grounds;
- to detain students until the arrival of law enforcement; and
- to carry a firearm.