By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- The Massena Central School District is the latest to discuss putting a police officer in school in the wake of a shooting in Parkland, Fla. that left 14 students and three staff members dead.

At Thursday’s Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Pat Brady said they are in “preliminary” talks with the Massena Police Department on them providing what is being called a “school resource officer.”

“We’re really at the preliminary stage of this. We had a conversation, a meeting with Chief (Adam) Love and Lt. (Jason) Olson at the Massena PD just to get the conversation going,” Brady said in a phone interview the day after the board meeting. It’s developing concept given our heightened state of concern with school safety.”

Brady said they are waiting to see if the state passes a bill to fund police officers assigned to school districts throughout the state.

“The Senate is working on potential funding and other support for school resource officers. Once we look at all the available information as this unfolds and options, we’ll make a decision,” Brady said.

The district has had a police officer assigned as a school resource officer in the past. Officer Patrick Serguson, who has since retired and is now a local justice, patrolled the school from 2002 to 2007, Brady said. The officer spent most of his time at the high school and J.W. Leary Junior High, where Brady at the time worked as a school administrator.

Serguson was armed when working at the Massena district, and Brady said he believes most, if not all police working as a school resource officer in New York state do carry firearms in school.

The position was funded through an agreement to share the cost with the village.

“I anticipate we’ll work on our district safety committee, which has reps from the police departments, fire department, other emergency services and make a recommendation to the Board of Education,” Brady said.