- April 26, 2024
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After the Parkland shooting, people across the U.S. have been asking what should be done ensure more school safety in the coming days, months and years.
In Volusia County, the questions have been the same—how will schools be safer? What kind of funding is needed? Should teachers be armed?
Those were only a handful of questions that were presented to two different groups during a Thursday, March 22, town hall meeting hosted by the Daytona Beach News-Journal in partnership with the Volusia County School District.
Longstreet Elementary fourth grade teacher Sari Clark Leman said that it has been unnerving after the Parkland shooting. When discussing what changes need to take place in order to prevent further tragic incidents, Leman said there should be more focus on mindfulness within the school system.
"The number one way to stop school shootings is to fund public health, mental health," Leman said, adding that the "number one thing that causes stress for students is tests."
University High School student Kirsten Larsen said she believes mental health is an issue that has been largely overlooked.
Ormond Beach Middle School Principal Matt Krajewski said he wanted to make sure that students know they are the number one priority when it comes to safety.
"It feels different this time, as in a lot more discussion with students, since Parkland," Krajewski said. "Talking with students, they want to know what their role is."
Much of the evening's discussion revolved around how the schools themselves can be made safer. Pine Ridge High School Principal RT Meyers stated he believes schools need to go to a single point of entry. For Larsen, the multiple entry points has become a concern. It's a concern that Chief Operating Officer for Volusia County School District Greg Akin said the county is already working on. According to Akin, thanks to funds from a half-cent sales tax, 27 schools have been outfitted with a single access point.
"Numerous changes have taken place and will continue to take place," Akin said.
What has been a major point of discussion is bringing in more security, specifically school resource officers, and who should should be armed.
In Daytona Beach, there is a police officer at every school, according to Daytona Beach Police Chief Greg Capri. The officers were put in the schools through a federal grant, one that is going to expire at the end of the year. However, Capri has no plans to take officers out of schools.
"We are absorbing that coast and are going to keep that going," Capri said, adding, "we're trying to keep as much police presence on these campuses as we can."
In Volusia County, there are only 26 schools that have SROs in them, according to Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood. He pointed out that to put an SRO in each school it would cost $9.7 million. Chitwood said he doesn't believe residents should be taxed to provide the funding but that there should be a way to generate additional revenue through the tourists that visit each year.
"We're going to have to meet with our board, we're going to have to meet with our community, we're going to have to meet with our staff internally to figure out how we're going to resolve that issue," Akin said.
Capri also noted that several retired law enforcement officers that have children or grandchildren in the schools have offered to walk the halls to provide additional protection. It's a service Capri is in favor of.
When it comes to arming school employees, views begin to differ.
DeLand High School student Stanford Tripp David said having a teacher present with a firearm could be a preventative measure in an emergency.
Mainland High student Jash Patel noted that he would feel safer with armed personnel on campus, but not necessarily in the hands of teachers.
"Their job is to teach," Patel said, adding, "teachers with guns would change the relationship with students."
Chitwood said law enforcement has been working with Embry Riddle on new technology to be deployed in high schools. He noted that even drones equipped with sensors, cameras or even a form of self defense, could be utilized if there is an active shooter.
Chitwood also met with a private security company out of DeBary to look into a program that would cost $5.5 million to have a certified armed guard who was former militarily or police to work the perimeter of each school.
"I think the important thing is it's not a matter of if there's going to be another school shooting," Chitwood said, "It's a matter of when or where, so we need to get a plan of action and we need to get it together now."
