South New Castle News

Appoquinimink School District officials share the same concern as many other district officials across the country when it comes to school safety – they want to make sure that students are safe and not subjected to the violence that has grown over the past decade.

According to the Middletown Transcript, Appoquinimink School District passed a referendum in December to address the issue as it created funding to hire constables to patrol elementary schools in the district.

The constables will be in a peace-keeping role, but it is important to note that they are legally allowed to carry weapons and can act in the same manner attached to police officers, but without the power to arrest anyone.

Tom Poehlmann, Appoquinimink director of Safety, Security and Operations, gave an outline of the planned procedures regarding the use of constables in the district at a recent council meeting. 

“We will utilize school constables as officers of the law to act in our schools as an integral part of security from outside factors, to actively engage our students in making good choices and to support schools in maintaining a caring, nurturing and safe environment,” the policy draft said.

It was also noted that the constables would be considered school employees. The cost of the program has not been determined and it is likely to take four years for it to be totally up and running.

High School resource officers are already in place at Middletown and Appoquinimink high schools. Now with the passage of the December referendum, the school can utilize a mix of state troopers, constables and Middletown officers at all schools in the district.