North Sewickley Twp. police providing resource officer for Riverside schools

Nicholas Vercilla, Ellwood City Ledger
·2 min read

NORTH SEWICKLEY TWP. – The Riverside School District will double up its security presence this year by having a school resource officer on campus in the near future.

Riverside School Board last week approved a three-year agreement between the district and North Sewickley Township to have a local police officer be a regular presence in the school buildings.

The agreement will run from August through the 2024-25 school year. The officer has not been selected yet.

District Superintendent Bret Trotta said the new SRO will be used to further enhance security at the two district buildings, and compliment John Ludwig, who has been the district's hired armed school police officer since March 2018.

Trotta said this will allow two officers to patrol the district every day, each moving between the buildings.

“Throughout the day, there will be one officer in each building,” he said.

Trotta said the district chose to work with the township, instead of adding another body from a private company, due to the resources available from the township, as well as better communication and the availability of a police vehicle to better show a legal enforcement presence in the district.

He said he would like to see the SRO trained, once the person is hired, before the start of the upcoming 2022-23 school year.

Trotta said he wanted to ensure parents/guardians of the district’s emphasis on school security, given the Uvalde, Texas, mass shooting in May.

More: 77 minutes of terror: Timeline of the Uvalde shooting with latest details and analysis

He said the district has a “layered approach,” which includes locked doors, security cameras, secured school vestibules and badges for visitors, as well as the existing school police officer and the future SRO.

Trotta said the most important thing in dealing with emergency situations is to make sure there is an open line of communication, to make sure students, staff, administration, police and parents/guardians are all made aware and informed.

School board member Mathew Lawrence said the district will not know what the cost per year will be until a candidate is selected.

Lawrence also said the district will be able to offset some of the costs for the SRO from school safety grants provided in the 2022-23 state budget.

This article originally appeared on Ellwood City Ledger: Double the security: Riverside to have school resource officer