x
Breaking News
More () »

‘The last-ditch effort is arming teachers’ | Floyd Co. board member on safety

When asked what he would do to increase the security in the 19 schools within Floyd County, a school board member said his first option would be to add more armed School Resource Officers to the system.

FLOYD COUNTY, Ga. – The Floyd County School Board met early Tuesday morning to discuss the safety of its students and teachers following the deadly Florida shooting.

While arming teachers has been a hot topic nationwide, Floyd County School Board member Jay Shell said that is a last-resort option.

“When it comes to our children’s safety, I don’t think that anything is off the table. But [arming teachers] is, by far, the last-ditch effort that I would ever consider,” Shell said. “I think there are definitely other avenues we could take that would be way more beneficial.”

Shell said that if the system has the option to put previously-trained law enforcement personnel in the positions, such as retired police officers and Sheriff's deputies, that should be the first choice of action. He said many retired police officers have already reached out to him volunteering to help.

“I’ve had retired police officers who have contacted me personally and volunteered that they’d be willing to do this,” Shell said.

Shell said while the conversation might be hard, it’s a positive conversation the board and community are having.

“When it comes to children we should look at every single avenue, even if it is a difficult discussion,” Shell said. “It has been a tough discussion but a positive one.”

Shell recently spoke with a principal at one of the schools about what could be causing the problems nation. He said the principal suggested getting more social workers into schools and additional guidance counselors at the elementary level who could reach out to possible at-risk kids to help them at an early age.

If the budget allows, Shell said those two options--more SROs and more counselors--that he would like to find a way to make happen.

Over the next month, the Floyd School Board will be looking at all its options for improving security.

Floyd County has just under 10,000 students in its 19 schools. Shell said the system currently employs four SROs for all of the schools, and his goal would be to hire enough SROs to have at least one at each school.

To hear the entire school board meeting, watch below. The discussion of school safety is brought up around the 41-minute mark:

RELATED | 'Bulletproof' classrooms: Tools could protect kids - and save victims

Before You Leave, Check This Out