School safety is a partnership, according to the National Association of School Resource Officers.
The organization’s executive director, Mo Canady, has been following news of Pauls Valley principal Kirk Moore, who tackled a former student who was seen on video entering the school with a gun last week.
“A big thank you to that administrator, Canady said. “I hope that he is recovering. Just a fantastic job by him.”
Pauls Valley Public Schools, courtesy of state funding, has a district-wide school resource officer. According to Garvin County Sheriff Jim Mullett, that SRO responded in 1 minute to take suspect Victor Hawkins into custody after he was tackled by Moore.
“I’m glad to hear that’s available in Oklahoma,” Canady said about the state’s school security funding. “That tells me that the state has strong commitment to school safety.”
This year, state legislators moved to make the $50 million in annual security funding for schools a permanent line item. It has already passed the House and Senate as part of the state’s overall budget.
The school security funding began as a pilot program years ago, now it’s success have made it permanent.
“I get sick of hearing that it’s a funding issue,” Canady added, referring to national conversations about needs for more SROs. “Because, the people who are in that building eight or so hours a day are any community’s most precious assets.”
Canady said a national jump in funding for SROs could still leave a workforce gap, with not enough candidates to fill openings or existing officers who can’t access the specialized training an SRO needs.
“The reason I say that is because that’s the most unique assignment in law enforcement,” he said. “Period.”
