PENFIELD, N.Y. (WROC) - On Thursday evening, The Penfield Central School District sent a letter to families in their district detailing changes to their safety protocols at both board meetings and at campuses during the school day. In the letter, Superintendent Dr. Tasha Potter shared details of a contract entered between the district and Blackhawk Security & Investigations, Inc. Effective April 8, the agency will be responsible for managing security detail at Board of Education meetings, including the positioning of guards at the front doors and inside the meeting room. Those who want to attend a board meeting will also be expected to walk through a metal detector. Many parents with children in the district, including James Ashby, believe this solution is too extreme. "The size of the response does not match any of the information the community has and it doesn't even address the community members' thoughts on guns in schools," Ashby said. "This is reactionary, and it just seems not necessary." Potter also explained the role of a newly hired Safety and Security Coordinator, whose primary responsibility is to patrol all district campuses. She added the person chosen for this position has over 30 years of law enforcement experience and is currently in the process of obtaining their armed guard registration card. The Safety and Security Coordinator position differs from that of a School Resource Officer (SRO), which would be outsourced to a nearby law enforcement agency. In their school safety plan, The Penfield Central School District would partner with the Monroe County Sheriff's office if deemed necessary. Currently, the district does not have an SRO. Ashby supports the idea of having an armed law enforcement officer patrolling school grounds as a precautionary measure but believes appointing an SRO would be more effective. "When you hire a deputy, you have a trained professional who's invested in the community. They come with education, and they provide additional resources beyond a safety and security director," Ashby said. Other parents, including Sharkisha Cummins, are concerned about anyone possessing a firearm on school property and explained how this change makes her feel. "I think the last thing our schools need are more guns," Cummins said. "And it's not because I don’t want to have tough conversations with my children, I will have those conversations, but it's because I can’t say that it's going to be safer." The district added in their letter the new Safety and Security Coordinator has not carried a concealed firearm on school campuses. News 8 reached out to Blackhawk Security & Investigations, Inc. to learn more about what security detail at Penfield Board of Education meetings could look like. The full letter sent to parents can be found here. ...read more read less