Panther Valley School District will have an armed police officer on school grounds for the 2018-19 school year.

The school board voted 5-3 Thursday night to approve a proposal for security services offered by Summit Hill Police Department.

Terms of the agreement were not immediately available. It will likely have to be approved by Summit Hill Borough Council before it can be finalized.

The decision to add an armed officer comes following a spring semester where students were locked down multiple times at the junior-senior high school due to threats and contraband found on school property.

Multiple students have been suspended pending expulsion for either leaving threatening notes or leaving a bullet on school grounds.

Superintendent Dennis Kergick said the district wants to have a school resource officer in the district, but they still have many particulars to work out about the plan.

“Parents have the right to know that their children are safe when they attend our schools. Our number one priority is always safety. The recent rash of school shootings and the high incidence (in our junior senior high school) regarding finding threatening messages and bullets has been a wake-up call for all of us. We never take these incidents or concerns lightly,” he said.

Last month, three parents brought their concerns to a board meeting, asking board members about what they planned to do to reduce the number of lockdowns in the new school year.

Kergick said right now, the plan involves one officer serving all three buildings. While the junior-senior high school and intermediate school are located in Summit Hill, Panther Valley Elementary is located in Nesquehoning borough.

“There are coverage issues that still need to be addressed,” Kergick said.

Board member Keith Krapf said the contract provides for one officer to cover the whole district. He voted against the plan because he said he didn’t think one officer was enough to cover the district’s three school buildings.

Krapf is the chief of the Coaldale Police Department.

“I don’t think one person is sufficient security for our district,” Krapf said.

Renee DeMelfi also voted against.

“Although I am in favor of having armed police officers, I am not in favor of this particular option,” she said.

Board member Gary Porembo said the board earmarked $60,000 in the budget it passed last month to pay for security measures.

Porembo said he supports a one-year agreement. He said the administration is trying hard to get grants to pay for security services, and they can look at if the agreement works at the end of the year.

“I want to see where the grants are for next year. We have to do something this year,” he said.