At the Mineola Union Free School District Board of Education meeting Aug. 28, 2025, Superintendent Michael Naglas and trustees discussed a parent proposal for armed guards after recent national school shootings, but board leaders urged caution and emphasized prevention, drills and existing safety plans.

The discussion began after a trustee relayed that a parent had asked the board to consider armed guards in district buildings. Superintendent Michael Naglas said, “I'm very hesitant to discuss publicly all of the safety measures we have because it's kind of defeatist and you don't really want bad actors to know those things,” and added that the district “works extensively with Homeland Security and SOPD. We do drills very regularly.”

Naglas described the tradeoffs and community reaction around hardening buildings, saying parents sometimes “revolted” when entry procedures were tightened at past events and noting efforts already under way, including coordinated drills and a standing district safety committee. He said some Nassau County districts place trained personnel in parking areas rather than inside buildings, and that rapid local police response is a factor: “Nassau PD has incredible response time,” he said.

Trustee Patrick Talpe added that the district reviews its safety plan year‑round, not only after tragedies, and said the plan is reviewed quarterly and “has to be approved annually” and is audited by the Nassau County Police Department. Talpe referred the public to the district website for a non‑detailed copy of the district safety plan and pointed trustees to a 2019 U.S. Secret Service report on school shootings, which he described as identifying “10 kinda key points” and concluding many incidents are preceded by warning signs. Talpe said the report’s finding that roughly "75 percent of the cases, the perpetrators are telegraphing what they're gonna do" supports focusing on communication, mental‑health supports and encouraging students to report concerns.

Board members said the district must balance hardening with maintaining access and community goodwill. Naglas advised against “an emotional decision,” saying effective prevention requires “having good communication, knowing your students, having great mental health support in place.” He pointed to student reporting and staff training as core tools and warned that simply stationing someone in a car in the parking lot is not a comprehensive solution.

No motion to change security staffing or to hire armed guards was made at the meeting. The board did not adopt new security policies during the session and instead left the matter open to continued review.

The discussion followed public concern after a national shooting; trustees repeatedly emphasized that the district’s approach is to minimize risk through training, mental‑health resources, and community reporting rather than immediately moving to armed in‑building guards.