According to officials at Greater Johnstown there has been just one resource officer in the district with four buildings. They said Greater Johnstown Elementary last having a resource officer in October 2022 and the high school has not had one since November.
These four officers will be employees of the school district according to officials rather than before having resource officers with the Johnstown Police Department at the schools.
The officers will be paid for out of the school’s general fund and officials said it will be able to be sustained.
“This program is not going to go away. We know that safety is a top priority not only for our board and district, but also across the country,” GJSD assistant superintendent Michael Dadey said. “There will be hopefully additional funding coming from the state and federal governments to help cover these positions, but we're prepared to be able to cover the cost of these officers that are in our schools.”
The officers will be armed and will have the ability to make an arrest if necessary, according to authorities.
“Our officers will have the same type of gear that a regular school resource officer would have,” Dadey said. “They'll have their weapons and they'll be able to have the same jurisdiction as they did as a regular school resource officer.”
Dadey said there were 10 candidates for the job, but not all got an interview.
John McFalls was named the supervisor of the group, and three others, one for each school in the district, were hired as the school police officers.
One being former JPD captain Michael Plunkard, who was charged with felony theft charges last year, but entered an ARD program and will have the charges expunged if he completes the program.
District officials said they were very comfortable with hiring Plunkard following the interview process.
Officials said the other two officers are Jeff Janciga and Karissa Lupton.
Which building the officers will be in has not yet been decided according to Dadey.
Some parents at a school board meeting last night showing concern over potentially eliminating other positions in the district for the officers... But superintendent Dr. Amy Arcurio said they are adding more teacher positions as well.
“The district is excited for this adventure,” Dadey said. “They're looking forward to seeing where the school police officers can be and how they can make an impact on our students.”
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uLbAnKuvZpOkunC6xLCqaKSfmK6te8arnJqslad6q7vHp6qtp6ejerSwjKGgq6GenHqnu9SrZKmnnJ6wpnnOn52im5WnwA%3D%3D