Quaker Valley School District adds another officer to its police force
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The Quaker Valley School District has a new police officer.
The board voted 8-0 at the Oct. 18 meeting to hire Tom Liberty of Beaver to the district force.
School director Jeffrey Watters was absent.
Liberty, 50, will be patrolling the halls of Edgeworth and Osborne elementary schools starting Nov. 1.
He is the third officer in the department. Officer David Watts is at the middle school and Chief Aaron Vanatta is at the high school.
“I think it’s a good commitment for the district to hire an additional officer from a safety perspective,” board president Jonathan Kuzma said. “I like that he has a long, stable career, and in addition to that, eight years as a school resource officer. It’s going to benefit him here. We’re really excited about that.”
Board member Gianni Floro also lauded Liberty’s hiring, and recommended the district look into hiring another officer so each school has its own armed patrolman.
Liberty served as a patrolman in New Sewickley Township in Beaver County for 22 years. He also worked as a school resource officer for Freedom Area School District.
He graduated from Beaver Falls High School in 1992 and has an associate degree in criminal justice from Community College of Beaver County.
Liberty was at the board meeting with his wife, Kimberly.
He said he was retiring from his aforementioned positions on Oct. 19 to take the Quaker Valley job. Liberty credited Vanatta with bringing this opportunity to his attention.
“Kids at this age are very impressionable, and I think we’re able to make a difference,” Liberty said. “There’s never time to rest. This position is the reason I’m retiring. It’s working exclusively with the kids.
“In the last eight years, I have collaborated a lot with Aaron Vanatta, and the opportunity to work under Aaron and work in the district is an opportunity I didn’t want to pass up. He’s provided me with a lot of information and programs that I’ve implemented at the Freedom Area School District.”
Vanatta was not at the board meeting. He said the following day that he looks forward to Liberty joining the team.
“We are excited to add another carefully selected and properly trained school police officer to be a role model and mentor to our students,” he said. “While doing this, we know he will also be educating them on a variety of safety topics and monitoring the buildings to keep them safe.”
Liberty’s Quaker Valley salary was listed at $61,500.