Parents protested in Lindenhurst today after the school district announced plans to eliminate security guards in all five of its elementary schools.
School officials say they made the decision after a series of public meetings, but parents at the Daniel Street Elementary School say the cuts were decided without their input.
The schools' superintendent would not talk to News 12 on camera, but said that the security guards were only implemented temporarily following the Sandy Hook school shooting last December. The superintendent said that after a yearlong study, the district, in collaboration with school security professionals, has made plans to implement many new security measures, including video cameras, card access control, a video intercom system for greeters and a host of other technology-related security measures.
However, the new measures aren't quelling some parents' concerns. "The only thing those cameras are going to do is going to videotape the horror that happens inside the school," says parent Chris Delaney. "The only way to stop somebody from coming into the school is to make it a hard target and put security in place that's needed, and that's the security personnel that's here."
School officials say the security guards will no longer be at the elementary schools starting Jan. 6.
However, the upgraded security measures will take a few months to be put in place.