Tom Horne, Arizona's State schools chief, has announced the allocation of close to $48 million for enhancing school safety measures. This funding, now made available to schools upon request, is specifically earmarked for the employment of more armed campus officers as well as counselors and social workers.
Despite past challenges in fully utilizing funds due to a shortage of law enforcement officers, schools are encouraged to immediately reach out to the Department of Education to tap into these resources. Horne emphasized the importance of this initiative, stating, "Making sure schools have armed officers on campus to protect students, educators and staff is one of my highest priorities." These sentiments were echoed in a recent announcement by the Department of Education.
The move to release the $48 million in carryover funds was voted on by the State Board of Education and comes in response to the accumulated dollars that had not been spent in previous years. According to the Department's announcement, this financial boost will support 198 School Resource Officers or School Safety Officers, in addition to funding 66 new positions for counselors or social workers, with the intention of creating safer school environments across the state.
Resource Officers are to be deployed full time on campuses, while Safety Officers will rotate to ensure coverage throughout the school week. Horne added that in the absence of available full-time officers, "the position was filled by multiple officers rotating overtime on their day off to ensure coverage for the full school week." Acknowledging the seriousness of the matter, he stated that the community "cannot afford to allow this vital funding to go unused." All schools within the state are eligible to put in their applications to benefit from these provisions.
Outlining the distribution of funds, the announcement clarifies that approximately $39.4 million is aimed at supporting the law enforcement presence on school grounds. The remainder, approximately $8.5 million, is set aside to bolster mental health and counseling services through the addition of new counselors and social workers. This allocation represents a significant investment by the state into the safety and well-being of its students and school staff.
