Put Armed Officers in Elementary Schools, Consultant Urges School Board

A consultant reviewing school safety policies is advising the Hillsborough County School Board to place armed officers in every elementary school.

The Tampa Bay Times is reporting that Michael Dorn of Safe Havens International (see Safe Havens' video with this article) was hired in January to review school safety policies and come up with a list of improvements. The decision to bring in Safe Havens followed the Sandy Hook school shootings in Connecticut.

Safe Havens' plan for Hillsborough schools is to place trained, armed security guards in every elementary school. The firm said that the officers need to be screen and supervised as well.

Superintendent MaryEllen Elia has estimated the cost for 130 security officers to be $700,000 for the remainder of this school year and $4.1 million for 2013-14.

The idea already is endorsed by the Hillsborough County Elementary Principals Council.

Safe Havens also recommended:

• Backup security for when regular security is sick or goes on vacation;
• Full-time supervisor to manage the security personnel;
• Updated safety drills for students and staff.

Brandon's elementary schools include:

• Hugo Schmidt Elementary School
• Limona Elementary School
• Buckhorn Elementary School
• Kingswood Elementary School
• Limona Elementary School
• Hortense Mintz Elementary School
• J.R. Brooker Elementary School
• Valrico Elementary School
• Walter S. Yates Elementary School