Gov. Lee Allocated $140M To Put An Armed Guard In Every School, But There Aren’t Enough Officers To Go Around

Image Credit: tn.gov

The Tennessee Conservative [By Kelly M. Jackson] –

This past session, the state legislature approved Governor Bill Lee’s $230 million dollar inclusion for school-related safety in his budget.

$140 million dollars of that is allocated to place a full time School Resource Officer in every one of the 1,863 public schools statewide.

Additionally, there is $30 million dollars assigned to place a homeland security agent in every county to assist in the endeavor of making Tennessee schools safer. The funds will become accessible for use on July 1^st when the new budget legislation goes into effect. 

The issue is that there are police shortages statewide – in city, county and state agencies alike.

The largest shortfalls are among MNPD and Davidson County. The Metro Nashville Police Department is the biggest police department in Middle Tennessee, authorized for 1,558 officers. The department is currently at 1,384 officers, but officials say there are 65 currently in the training pipeline according to recent reports. The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office is authorized for 454 positions and is currently down 127 officers. 

Metro Nashville Public Schools has 158 campuses and works with MNPD to place an officer on those campuses mostly at middle and high schools. About 38 officers are in a rotation to cover those schools. Unlike other counties that have a dedicated officer on every campus, Williamson County for example, MNPS does not have a dedicated officer assigned to any specific campus.   

Other counties have no SRO on any of their campuses, so instead they have hired a security at the expense of the district. Hamilton County uses this option as their county sheriff’s department has indicated they don’t have the resources to hire enough officers to just cover all the other general public safety priorities, let alone enough resources to staff every one of Hamilton County’s 79 schools.

The question, then becomes, what can be done to bridge the gap while the state and Homeland Security recruit, hire and train these officers so they are fully equipped to protect our kids while they attend school?

There was a bill this session that was passed in the House and tabled in the Senate until January of next near when the new session of the General Assembly commences. 

HB1202, sponsored by Representative Ryan Williams (R-D42-Cookeville), summary: Teachers, Principals and School Personnel – As introduced, authorizes a faculty or staff member of a school to carry a concealed handgun on school grounds subject to certain conditions, including obtaining an enhanced handgun carry permit and completing annual training. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13 and Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 8.

This would have gone a long way to cover the students, especially those who have no armed security on campus, and could be waiting as much as a year or two for all the recruiting, training and placement to take place. 

About the Author: Kelly Jackson is a recent escapee from corporate America, and a California refugee to Tennessee. Christ follower, Wife and Mom of three amazing teenagers. She has a BA in Comm from Point Loma Nazarene University, and has a background in law enforcement and human resources. Since the summer of 2020, she has spent any and all free time in the trenches with local grassroots orgs, including Mom’s for Liberty Williamson County and Tennessee Stands as a core member.  Outspoken advocate for parents rights, medical freedom, and individual liberty. Kelly can be reached at kelly@tennesseeconservativenews.com.