The Barrow County Board of Education unanimously approved the hiring of eight more school resources officers Tuesday — the same day students returned to Apalachee High School for the first time since a shooting killed four people at the school nearly three weeks ago.
The move will put a school resource officer at every school in the district northeast of Atlanta, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said Tuesday.
“As we look ahead, we are committed to addressing the community’s concerns about the well-being and safety of our students,” Superintendent Dallas LeDuff said at the meeting, the board’s first since the shooting.
The school system already contracts with the sheriff’s office to provide 17 officers, which includes one lieutenant and two sergeants. The district has 10 elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools and three alternative education programs.
Officials have credited the two school resource officers at Apalachee High with quickly intercepting the alleged shooter Sept. 4. The suspect is accused of killing two 14-year-old students, two teachers and injuring nine others.
The National Association of School Resource Officers recommends one SRO in every school. Research shows that while SROs can reduce some violence in schools, they don’t necessarily prevent shootings. A study published last year found the presence of SROs increased suspensions, expulsions, police referrals and arrests of students, particularly for Black students, male students and those with disabilities.
The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office will have to hire more officers to fill the eight new positions, Smith said. The office shares the cost with the school system.
Students returned to Apalachee High School on Tuesday to shortened days. There was an increased police presence on the campus, and the district planned to have additional mental health resources available. On Tuesday, the Apalachee High attendance rate was 88.6%, district staff said. The school had about 1,900 students last school year.
The school board also approved Tuesday the purchase of modular classroom units to temporarily make up for space lost after the shooting. The hall where the shooting took place will be closed through the end of the school year. Some students are being bused to another building to attend social studies classes. The district plans to put a temporary classroom unit on the campus as early as Monday and add additional units by January 2025 to accommodate the 30,000 square feet of lost space.
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