The Mobile County Public School System is finalizing an upgraded security plan in the wake of the shooting at LeFlore High School, with Superintendent Chresal Threadgill saying the district hopes to announce the plan within the next couple of weeks.
“We’re waiting on some equipment, and we also have some policy recommendations we’re planning to include in the comprehensive plan,” Threadgill said.
Threadgill did not detail the specific policy recommendations under consideration, but said the school system has reviewed every security option on the table, including metal detectors.
“We know that some of the metal detectors are kind of old school with the way they’re set up,” Threadgill said. “So, we’re looking at some more innovative ways to make sure that we can target those kids that are entering or adults that are entering our buildings with weapons.”
District officials have also examined expanding the school resource officer program in partnership with the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, though both Threadgill and Sheriff Paul Burch acknowledged that expansion would not be simple.
“There’s two challenges. One is capacity, finding enough resource officers for our schools, and the other is funding. When you talk about 90 resource officers to be fully outfitted it gets costly,” Threadgill said.
Currently, 12 sheriff’s deputies are assigned to the district’s high schools and their feeder patterns, at a cost of roughly $1.8 million. Burch said that price tag should ease over time as the bulk of the expense is tied to startup costs.
“That’s a startup cost,” Burch said. “A vehicle is anywhere from $50,000 to $70,000 once you have it outfitted, and then all their startup equipment, uniforms, guns, radios.”
Both officials pointed to several potential funding sources for the expanded program, including the school system’s existing safety and security funds as well as possible support from the state legislature. In the short term, Burch said his priority is extending resource officer coverage down to the district’s middle schools.
“That’s where your problems generally arise, is middle school and high school, and that would make it a lot safer where the deputies assigned to the middle and high schools could go by the nearby elementary schools and go right back to their areas,” Burch said.
Threadgill said he expects the district to announce its enhanced security plan either by the end of this week or sometime in the coming week, as the school system works to reassure parents and staff following the LeFlore shooting.