It was terrifying. It was maddening. It was a tragedy averted.
But there is something last week’s shooting at Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy wasn’t: the final crack in the dam holding back state funding for more armed resource officers in Georgia schools.
The state’s political leadership decried the shooting. Thanked the heavens no one was killed. But beyond those words, there seems to be little political appetite for spending the tens of millions it would cost to place more armed officers in the state’s public schools.
Gov. Nathan Deal, who would have to sign into law legislation using state money for more officers, was in Asia when the shooting took place. His spokesman, Brian Robinson, offered no indication that his boss would back bills calling for more spending on officers.
“The state must constantly review security procedures in place and those that are needed to keep students safe,” Robinson said.
House Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones, R-Milton, also reacted cautiously.
“We should carefully assess the risk and cost before hastily responding to one school intruder, although it was a frightening experience for the children,” Jones said. “Safety for children is a paramount concern, but that does not necessarily mean we should mandate armed security officers for 1,335 Georgia elementary schools.”
As it was at the beginning of last year’s legislative session, when the nation was still shaken by the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, school security is expected to be a topic of discussion when the Legislature convenes in January.
Georgia Superintendent John Barge said armed officers could be placed in all public schools if the state gave districts all of the money Georgia’s funding formula called for them to receive.
via Despite McNair shooting, no push for more officers | www.myajc.com.
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