By Lee Weyhrich
The nation is still reeling from the mass shooting of children in Connecticut last week. People across the country are looking for answers as to why the tragedy occurred and what could have been done to stop it. In an effort to prevent such tragedies in local schools, Jefferson County and the city of Trussville are looking into what it would take to make added security a staple in area schools.
This week, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, each school has been granted a designated officer, or School Resource Officer, to ensure the safety of anyone visiting the schools. Typically, the county employs 19 SROs to handle security issues in the schools. These officers spend the majority of their time at the high schools, and rotate around to the middle and elementary schools in order to maintain a relationship with faculty and students, Jefferson County Commissioner Joe Knight said.
“All the schools in the county are generally covered; the high schools and the schools that feed into those high schools,” Knight said
. “In light of what happened in Connecticut, certainly (increased security is) a consideration. It is an unfortunate situation that we even have to consider added security, but in light of the circumstances, we are going to have to look at it. There are deputies at every school this week to show that this is a concern and we are looking into what to do down the road. If the children aren’t safe in schools, where are they going to be safe?”
The idea that anyone could mass murder children was unfathomable, Knight said. But a permanent officer in every school may not be a possibility. SROs are funded largely by the school systems themselves, a cost local cash-strapped school systems are not easily able to afford.
“Would we like to have an officer in every school?” Knight asked. “Certainly. The next step is to look at the cost versus what we can do.”
In order to provide SROs in county schools for just the next two weeks, the sheriff’s department has had to increase overtime and shut down some non-emergency responsibilities, Jefferson County Chief Deputy Randy Christian said.
Any plan will have to take into account the already stretched resources of the sheriff’s department. The extension of the SRO program through this week is temporary, but Christian said that plans are being made for a more permanent solution.
In Trussville, specific plans have not yet been made, but Mayor Gene Melton said city officials will be looking into security issues, as well. Over the next two weeks, he said the city, the school board and public safety officials will put a plan in place for the schools.
“We’re not going to do a knee jerk deal, but we are going to get those kids all the protection we can provide,” Melton said. “When the kids come back in January, we’re going to have a plan in place and we will do everything possible to keep them safe.”
In a letter that Paine Primary School Principal Betsy Schmitt sent to parents on Monday, she said that the city and Trussville City School’s Superintendent Patricia Neill are looking to have a permanent police presence in the school in the future.
“The city of Trussville assigned Officer Josh Payne to our campus for the remainder of this week,” Schmitt said. “He is walking the hallways and patrolling the exterior of the buildings throughout the day. Dr. Neill and our city leaders will continue to discuss extending this plan over the holiday break, and hopefully we will have an officer assigned permanently to the campus.”
Neill said she would do everything she could to keep the School Resource Officers permanently. The cost of keeping the officers is threefold, however. The school system will be responsible for paying the officer, as well as any equipment that officer may need while on duty. The particulars of keeping the officers have not been laid out, she said.
The cost of SRO’s at Hewitt-Trussville Middle School and Hewitt-Trussville High School are currently paid by the city from the police department budget.
“The presence of the police officers has been comforting to everyone and I want to thank Lt. Jeff Bridges, as well as Mayor Melton, for being able to so quickly respond when I asked them for help,” Neill said. “In a situation like this, we all have to work together.”