Holmes: Increase school guards

LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock School District Superintendent Morris Holmes on Thursday proposed having an armed guard in each of the district’s schools that doesn’t already have an on-site police officer, hiring more unarmed guards and working with the Little Rock Police Department to place more officers in some buildings.

Holmes made the proposal after reviewing the district’s security plans with principals and administrators after the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., that left 26 students and educators dead.

“We are here for your guidance and your wisdom,” Holmes told School Board members at a regular meeting Thursday. “But we are also here to say to you what we think we need and what is needed for our school district. We will not be hesitant to tell you.”

School Board members decided to hold a work session next Thursday to discuss the district’s security needs and to get input from principals about Holmes’ plan. The plan’s three components are also on the agenda for the board’s Jan. 24 meeting.

While some board members seemed supportive of increasing security, others said they wanted to have a more detailed discussion.

“I think we need to take a deep breath and determine if these are risk areas that need to be plugged or if we are feeling threatened by the im- mediacy of the news,” board member Jody Carreiro said, referring to the Newtown shootings.

Newtown “had good controlled access to the building, and they had teachers and administrators that followed that plan to a T ... and bad things still happened,” he said.

Carreiro said he wanted to be careful to use the district’s time and resources effectively.

Holmes said the plan expands on initiatives that are already in place throughout the district.

“This is not emotionalism,” he said. “This is not crackerjack stuff.”

Board members said the district has a strong security plan, but they agreed with Holmes that it is important to evaluate the need to strengthen that plan periodically.

“These situations always spur review,” board member Michael Nellums said of the recent shootings. “A tragedy like this drives the point home.”

If the board approved the plan, the Little Rock School District would have at least one armed person in each of its 50 school buildings.

Eighteen Little Rock police officers currently work in the district, largely in its high schools, with half of their salaries paid by the school system, Holmes said. He asked the board to authorize him to discuss the feasibility of hiring additional school police officers in the future, adding that it would take time to do so.

The district currently has 118 unarmed guards, who are hired at an annual cost of about $23,000 each for salary and benefits, Holmes said in an interview after the meeting. He is asking the board to approve 10 more positions to add unarmed guards at certain schools.

The district does not currently have any armed nonpolice guards in its schools. If Holmes’ proposal is approved, armed guards would be carefully trained and evaluated psychologically before they are placed in district buildings, he said.

The Newtown shootings have sparked school-security evaluations around the state and the formation of a state law-enforcement committee to develop voluntary activeshooter training for school districts. As Vice President Joe Biden began discussions about new gun policies for the nation, the National Rifle Association appointed Arkansas Republican gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson of Rogers to explore placing armed guards in U.S. schools.

Also Thursday, the board voted down Holmes’ proposal to switch the school assignments of McClellan High School Principal Clausey Myton and Hamilton Learning Academy Coordinator Keith McGee, a plan that met protests from McClellan teachers, who feared switching school leaders midyear would have a negative effect on students.

Board approval is not required for such transfers, but Holmes asked for a board vote for “transparency,” he said.