Dear Parents and Guardians,

On November 17, 2025, the ELANCO Board of School Directors approved the hiring of two school police officers.  These appointments were the final steps of transition after the school district was notified that the New Holland Police Department would no longer be an option for security staffing after December 31, 2025.  The board engaged in a process of identifying the best option for providing a safe environment for our students and staff after being notified of the pending changes.  This process included updating multiple policies and identifying resources to be allocated to this change.  The selection of highly qualified individuals to protect our students and staff, however, was the most important part of this process.

Our two new school police officers come to our district with over 40 years of combined police experience, both at the school and community level.  They also possess multiple levels of training that will help them carry out their duties and responsibilities in support of our students and staff.  As a district, we were very excited to have an outstanding pool of candidates and even more fortunate to secure two individuals who aligned with our goals and expectations as we work daily to keep our students and staff safe.

Manuel (Manny) Luciano comes to ELANCO with experience gained through the Lancaster City Police Department, IU13 as a School Police Officer, and almost 30 years reserve duty in the United States Army.  He has served in a variety of leadership positions throughout his career and brings extensive knowledge of school-based policing to our district.

Joel Stoltzfus joined our team after serving our community for almost ten years as a member of the New Holland Police Department.   During that time, he spent several years of service assigned to ELANCO as our School Resource Officer.  In his assignment to ELANCO, Officer Stoltzfus was a committed and positive presence in our buildings, meeting with students, staff and community members as he built positive relationships and knowledge of our overall school community.  

Over the next several months you can expect to see more of our officers within and across our buildings and campuses and at various school district events.  As with any transition, we appreciate your feedback and input.

Please join us in welcoming our new hires to ELANCO. 

Michael Snopkowski