By David Fleet
Editor
Goodrich — On June 26 the Goodrich Board of Education voted 7-0, two contract two security staff for the 2023-24 school year to monitor all areas of the high school, including the inside and outside along with the parking area. The cost of the staff is $32 per hour.
“This is a fortunate, but unfortunate trend we are seeing with security staff in schools,” said Mike Baszler, district superintendent. “We tried a pilot program here at the high school, the board supported hiring two armed security guards from Premier Security Solutions through the end of the (2022-23) school year.”
Premier Security Solutions staff has prior and current law enforcement, military training experience along with training in first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, automated external defibrillator and ALICE.
“The presence of these two guards during the pilot program, one male and one female, have proved very effective not only in safety, but also in detecting vaping and preventing vandalism in our high school bathrooms” he said.  “Our hope is they will help deter these activities in the future.”
The security staff will allow the School Resource Officer to cover all four buildings and provide a level of flexibility. In March 2019, the school board of trustees voted 7-0 to join with Atlas Township to sub-contract with the Genesee County Sheriff Office for a school resource officer. The SRO serves nine months with the school district and three months on patrol in Atlas Township.
“This is a natural evolution from when we just had a School Resource Officer to where we are at now,” said Kurt Schulte, board treasurer.
In March, the Goodrich Board of Education voted 7-0 approving a Premier Security Solutions Staffing Pilot program to begin. The pilot program included two staff at a cost $32 hour per who were posted at the high school. The staff were in addition to the current school resource officer.
“Security is one of our main focuses in the district,” said Baszler. “We’ve been looking for ways to increase security at the high school. In addition, the added security will work to deter vandalism and vaping.”
The staff will be in communications during the day and when needed after school.
The Brandon School District has contracted with Flint-based Premier Security Solutions since April 2018. In addition to an SRO, the district staffs security at each of the four buildings on the Brandon campuses.