Facing a shortage of school resource officers, the Moore County Board of Education is weighing a proposal to contract with a private firm to provide security at several elementary schools.
At a work session held on Tuesday, the board heard a presentation from Gary Pastor, founder and president of North Carolina Protection Group, on a proposal to place unarmed security guards at six campuses. The schools under consideration are Cameron, Southern Pines, Westmoore, West End, McDeeds Creek, and Sandhills Farm Life elementary schools.
Moore County Schools operates its own police force but has struggled to fill positions, with 14 vacancies currently unfilled. The proposed contract would employ privately contracted security guards to patrol school grounds, monitor for threats, and assist administrators in maintaining a secure environment.
Pastor, who began his career in the U.S. Marine Corps and later served with the Greenville Police Department, explained that he founded his security firm more than 25 years ago and has been actively involved in the industry ever since.
“Law enforcement across the board is extremely short-handed right now,” said Pastor regarding the vacancies. “It doesn’t matter what department you go to, there’s less and less people getting involved. And it’s unfortunate, but it’s an opportunity for us to step in and offer a professional service to help fill that gap.”
Pastor described his company as staffed with former law enforcement officers, SWAT team members, police personnel, and even former teachers. A supervisor position would oversee the guards, serve as a liaison with Moore County Schools Police, and provide coverage when guards are absent. Guards could also be deployed for athletic events or reassigned to other schools if needed.
“Your peace of mind when you send your child to school—you should never have to worry about it,” Pastor said. “You should never have to worry about whether or not your child will come home safe, whether or not your wife or husband will come home safe after teaching. That should not ever be a question. It wasn’t a question when I was younger. It’s sad that it is where it is today.”
Funding for the contract would be drawn from existing school resource officer allocations through the 2025-26 budget.
The presentation cited statewide concerns, noting that incidents of school crime and suspensions increased in the 2022-23 school year compared to the previous year. Reports of assaults on personnel and bomb threats remain recurring issues across North Carolina, according to Department of Public Instruction data.
Following the presentation, the board and other school officials were invited to share their thoughts and to ask questions.
Board member Pauline Bruno asked if the security guards would have any involvement or authority in student discipline.
“I get really tired of people saying, ‘well, he had a bad day today,’ or, ‘he didn’t have breakfast today,” said Bruno. “There’s a million excuses why we’re letting discipline go. If we have a problem with a student, who makes the final decision?”
Pastor explained that the security officers would not have any authority over disciplinary actions and that they would instead work alongside school administrators who would have the authority to determine any such instances.
Board member David Hensley said he “could not be more opposed” to the proposal.
One of his points of contention was his argument that unarmed guards could not fulfill the original mission of school resource officers.
“The fact of the matter is the people who most need to be trained to respond to an active shooter are the school resource officers, and we’re going to end up with unarmed security guards, right?” queried Hensley. “So, they can’t even do the primary responsibility. I get all the things that they can do, but they cannot stop an active shooter. They can only report it.”
Pastor clarified that these are due to regulations imposed by the state. “Currently, the state of North Carolina says that you cannot carry a weapon on school property unless you’re a sworn law enforcement officer,” said Pastor. “I’m very involved with the state of North Carolina and the law process, and there is legislation right now that may change that come January. We’ll just have to wait and see how it pans out.”
Hensley, however, also voiced his concern about the level of training required under the proposed contract, which lists a high school diploma or GED as the main qualification and prior experience in security or related fields as “preferred.”
“I’ve been told for five years that SRO’s have to have this special training,” pressed Hensley. “That they have to, you know, understand students and this and that, [now] to a high school diploma, GED and maybe some experience preferred.”
Superintendent Dr. Tim Locklair defended the plan. “We as a school district are forward thinking in looking to do this and looking to ensure we have trained security personnel monitoring our schools … where we’re unable to have full-time school police there at this time,” he said. “You are not going to find school districts across the state to have every school covered. You’re not.”
Dr. Locklair then reiterated that he strongly recommends that the board move forward and “that we get these security personnel in place as quickly as possible.”
As the discussion came to a close, the consensus generally seemed favorable toward the proposed contract. Board members listened to the presentation and did not take action on Tuesday, but are expected to continue discussions in upcoming meetings as they consider moving forward with the contract.
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~ Written by Sandhills Sentinel Assistant Editor Abegail Murphy. Abegail has been writing for Sandhills Sentinel since 2021.
Feature photo courtesy NC Protection Group.
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