Following the start of the 2024-2025 school year, Terrace students have noticed several changes around campus. One of the more noticeable changes has been an armed security guard patrolling halls and lunch areas during school hours. Students and staff were initially uninformed of this change, resulting in some confusion among the Terrace population.
Senior Elio Isley said, “I saw [the security guard] and was confused on why he was there with a huge vest on. I’ve seen cops at the school before and overtime stopped questioning why, but it was just a little confusing and shocking.” Another student, junior Tate Haney said, “I realized we had an armed security [guard] while leaving on the 5th [of September]. He was hanging out with a crowd of kids around him. Then I realized he was armed and I immediately felt anxious and felt like I needed to get out of there.”
Other students however went about their day unaware of the guard’s presence. Junior Cenai Kidane said that her day was pretty normal.
“I came to school by bus. I got my picture taken … It wasn’t too interesting. [Later] when I was told that there was a (security guard) at the school I was confused and concerned.” Freshman Nazaret Kidane added, “I assumed that he was a normal part of the school. I knew that some schools had police officers as security and I was just surprised that [I had never been] told about it.”
While many students and staff were concerned, especially following the Apalachee High School shooting in Georgia, Assistant Superintendent Greg Schwab explained the reasoning behind this decision. “We have a standing contract with Valley Security to provide security support for our school district. This is a contract that has been in place for a number of years.” Schwab later explained that one of the Terrace administrators had a planned absence at the start of the school year and admin “added the security staff there to help with supervision and security needs as the beginning of the year is often a challenging time.” District administrators decided to place security at the school for both student and staff safety during the chaotic start of the new school year.“
However, the new armed guard presence on campus has also caused problems for students. On Sept. 5, during the latter half of the school day, the vehicle belonging to a security guard was seen blocking the main entrance and exit of the campus. “I was leaving school around 1:15, and when I was about to pull out onto Hawk Way I saw the patrol car or whatever it was. I saw the guy that was waving the stick around had stopped the car in front of us so I turned back into the parking lot to collect myself,” junior Madeline Keating said. “It freaked me out because I was worried something was going to happen or was [currently] happening at the school and my friends were still in there.”
While many are worried about the new security roaming the halls, Principal Crosby Carpenter said this change is only temporary, and the security presence “is no different than local MLT police.” Contracted security personnel will be leaving after the first week of school, and will be replaced with Terrace’s regular security officer, according to Carpenter.