Image Credit: Metro Nashville Network
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
Metro Nashville Council accepted a grant on Tuesday that would provide more funding for school resource officers. This grant will cover the cost to place SROs in every middle and high school in the Metro area.
The Council voted to accept more than $3.3 million from the grant which reimburses MNPD up to $75,000 per SRO per school with a 23-12 vote. Two members abstained from voting.
Money was available to have an officer in every school, but Metro Police Chief John Drake made the decision to decline the funding due to a staffing shortage. Drake said they did not have enough people to fill all of the available positions.
While middle and high schools will get those SROs, elementary schools will have to come up with different safety measures. However, this is not a new thing; elementary schools in the Metro area have not had SROs in the past.
Members voting in favor of accepting the grant said that their decision was strictly based on finances. Taking the money would free up Metro money that was already being used to fund those positions.
According to Deputy Police Chief Chris Gilder, that money will likely be used to cover overtime costs for officers, although a final decision has not yet been made.
Governor Bill Lee spoke out against the decision this past summer, saying that it was a disservice to both parents and teachers.
Drake reiterated that he wanted to hire more officers to fill those positions but it was not a realistic possibility at the moment.
After voting to accept the grant, council members say they are not finished advocating for more policy changes to provide a safer school environment.
“I see this more as the state trying to wash its hands of its responsibility to pass adequate gun reform legislation,” said District 30 Council member Sandra Sepulveda.
Others question the fact that Gilder stated that SROs were “there to respond to criminal incidents” while other police department memorandums stated that SROs would help with disruptive students.
District 25 Council member Jeff Prepit, who is also a civil rights attorney, said, “We should not be funneling our children through the prison industrial complex. Schools are supposed to be a place of learning.”
A breakdown of the votes is as follows:
In favor: Burkley Allen, Quin Evans-Segall, Jennifer Gamble, Mike Cortese, Clay Capp, Tonya Hancock, Jennifer Webb, Jeff Eslick, Erin Evans, Russ Bradford, Jordan Huffman, Jacob Kupin, Rollin Horton, Sheri Weiner, Thom Druffel, Courtney Johnston, Bob Nash, David Benton, Tasha Ellis, John Rutherford, Joy Styles, Sandy Ewing and Jason Spain
Opposed: Zulfat Suara, Delishia Porterfield, Olivia Hill, Joy Smith Kimbrough, Kyonzte Toombs, Sean Parker, Emily Benedict, Deonte Harrell, Ginny Welsch, Terry Vo, Jeff Preptit and Sandra Sepulveda
Abstaining: Brandon Taylor and Brenda Gadd
