BRIDGEVILLE, Del. - With the 2022-23 school year fast approaching, the Woodbridge Board of Education has voted to increase the number of security staff in all of the district's schools, Superintendent of Schools Heath Chasanov announced Wednesday.
Chasanov said that the board's decision comes as a result of the increase in violent acts against schools in the past several years. He also said that the district
The district has also hired James “Shawn” Hatfield as safety and security coordinator to be in charge of all aspects of school safety.
Hatfield is a retired Delaware State Police trooper and spent a large part of his career working as a school resource officer in Delaware schools. He is also a Woodbridge graduate and spent many years coaching in Woodbridge's youth sports system.
Chasanov further announced that the board has also agreed to join the state of Delaware constable program. This means that once all of the district's security personnel complete the constable requirements, they will carry a firearm in school buildings. The plan is to have two individuals assigned to each building that are certified constables, Chasanov said. He added that the district is in the process of hiring all of these individuals prior to the start of the school year.
Ebony Newton has six children in the Woodbridge School District. She says she stresses less with the added safety measures.
"It is a concern of mine that my children and safe when they're outside of my care. I'm happy that they took that initiative to decide hey let's do this to keep our children safe when they're outside of the care of their parents," she said.
Additionally, the district will continue to have a state police school resource officer at Woodbridge High School and have support from the Bridgeville Police Department in both Bridgeville schools.
"We remain committed to ensuring that we are providing as safe an environment as possible for our students and staff," Chasanov said.