The Sun’s announcement of security changes in Cherry Hill schools was the most read story of 2018.
Editor’s Note: This is part of a countdown of the top 10 most read stories on www.cherryhillsun.com in 2018. This story was the most read story of the year.
Arguably the biggest story of 2018 took place in the waning days of February. Student protests over a Cherry Hill High School East teacher’s placement on administrative leave and security concerns prompted a ton of discussion within the community and at a packed board of education meeting at the end of the month.
The week-long story culminated in a major announcement on Friday, March 2. The Sun was among the first media outlets to report that Cherry Hill Public Schools would deploy fully-equipped police officers within the school buildings beginning on March 5. The breaking news would end up being by far the most-read Cherry Hill Sun story of 2018.
After days of protests, debate and discussion within the community, township and school officials met later in the week to discuss next steps. The biggest item coming out the meeting was the deployment of Cherry Hill police officers within the schools in addition to the normal patrols the police already made. “As I said earlier this week, when talking about safeguarding our schools, we need to talk about what immediate measures can be taken. I believe the quickest, most efficient way to have an immediate increase in security is to have fully equipped police officers in our schools,” said Mayor Chuck Cahn in a statement. “We are ready and willing to partner with the schools. We have the capability to make improvements today and that’s what we are going to do.”
The Cherry Hill Police remained in the schools while Cherry Hill Public Schools created a plan to have armed school resource officers. The school district would go on to increase its number of officers in time for the 2018–19 school year.
In addition, the school district announced stricter protocols for anyone visiting the school buildings. Visiting family had to present photo identification and the student ID number of their child before entering the building. All other visitors had to have an appointment prior to arriving at the school and have to present photo identification to be admitted.
“In light of recent events, including the tragedy in Parkland, Florida, we are taking a comprehensive look at our current protocols and how we can continue to improve,” Meloche said in the statement. “We share the concern and the emotion and the impact of the events that have occurred in our country. The Board of Education and the school district are grateful to the students, the families, the community members, the staff and community officials who have so passionately engaged in discussion about making sure our children are safe.”
The discussion of security would not go away after this announcement. Numerous public discussion continued to take place at future BOE meetings and public forums. Security was also a big topic during discussions on the district’s bond referendum and will likely remain a big issue in the new year.
To read the story, visit https://cherryhillsun.com/full-equipped-police-officers-to-be-deployed-to-all-cherry-hill-public-schools-e02d250163ff
