Brownsville school security gets boost from 84 Lumber
Rick Shrum/Observer-Reporter
Maggie Hardy Magerko of 84 Lumber and Brownsville Area Superintendent Keith Hartbauer discuss security in schools.
Upset by school violence, 84 Lumber's Maggie Hardy Magerko helps enhance Brownsville Area beef up security.
BROWNSVILLE – Amid the backdrop of a lockdown Tuesday morning, Brownsville Area School District officials accepted a gift to enhance security.
“These incidents have made me sick, sick, sick, sick, sick, sick!” Maggie Hardy Magerko exclaimed, her voice rising exponentially with each “sick.”
The president and owner of 84 Lumber and Nemacolin Woodlands Resort is weary of the seeming epidemic of school-related shootings and threats, including a thwarted gun incident at Uniontown High School last month. So she decided to extend a helping hand to a district in need.
Magerko presented Brownsville Area with a check for $7,396 to purchase and install metal detectors in the elementary, middle and high schools.
Tuesday’s late-morning ceremony occurred in the high school library, where Magerko was joined by Superintendent Keith Hartbauer, high school Principal Bill King, Director of Security Dave Simpson and more than a half-dozen students.
The district lifted the lockdown about 12:45 p.m. after getting an “all clear” from state police, Hartbauer said. The lockdown, he added, was in response to something seen on social media. “We want to err on the side of caution,” Hartbauer said. School districts around the region have been on heightened alert since a school shooting killed 17 in Parkland, Fla., last week.
Simpson provided the impetus for the donation. A retired state trooper from the Uniontown barracks, he began working as the district’s security director about three weeks ago, filling a position that had been vacant for several months. Hartbauer said the job is a necessity, one that “affects 1,600 students, staff and visitors daily.”
More than a quarter-century ago, Simpson worked for Magerko. With Brownsville Area seeking an upgrade in security but short on funding for metal detectors, he called his onetime employer about two weeks ago, seeking her help.
“Her heart is with children and she is very giving,” he said. “I contacted her.”
Magerko initially thought metal detectors would be cost-prohibitive, but found out they were cost-effective – about $2,500 apiece. She said it was “unacceptable” to not have this level of security at a school and opted to do something.
“Let’s get our priorities straight,” she said. “Children need to be safe and have peace of mind. But people seem to be accepting this type of situation.”
Asked whether she had previously donated to a school district to buy metal detectors, Magerko said, “No, but I’m sure I will hear from other districts now … But this is something I have to do.”