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In Polk County, We Take Care of Our Own
While some school districts are struggling with the politics of protecting their kids from shooters in schools, Florida has taken action. Here in Polk County, the Sheriff’s Department and other law enforcement agencies will be hiring citizens to be part of the Guardians Program. When they put the call out, 400 people applied for the 90 positions.
The program was enacted in response to the Parkland school shooting. Applicants will be put through a rigorous screening process, including psychological testing. These employees will be hired in addition to the school resource officers in place. Here is a partial job description:
Guardians won’t have the power to make arrests, but they will be in uniform and carry guns while protecting elementary schools. Training, which lasts approximately three weeks, includes 80 hours of basic firearms training, 16 hours of precision pistol training, eight hours of defensive tactics and 12 hours of legal issues.
School safety guardians will be School District employees with the same benefits as other employees. Starting annual pay is $30,000 for 10 months of work and two months off for the summer. The total benefit package is valued at $40,000.
People from all ages and walks of life have applied. The Rev. Stephen Bolden, 43, believes he will have time to run his church and serve the District. Another applicant, Alexandra Ramos, who will enter Florida Southern College as a junior in the fall, is a retired Marine and can handle an M16 rifle.
I’m proud to live in a state that makes the safety of our children a priority.
Published in Guns
Great stuff, SQ! Way to go Polk County! (Slight quibble: “Marine” and “retired”…You’re not “former” unless you’re disgraced or deceased, just sayin’.) :-)
Oh, my bad!! Thank you for pointing that out, @nandapanjandrum. Fixed! ;-)
I wrote to the author of The Ledger article because I was confused about the use of School Resource Officers and the new Guardians, and he quickly responded:
At our monthly school board meeting last night we learned that district parents overwhelmingly support arming staff members. So we have a lot of work to do, but I’m encouraged by the positive response.
Oh. Unstated is that school resource officers are not just there to prevent or stop shooters. They are school cops. They bust juveniles who are being delinquent. In so doing, they may make school safer by deterring gangs. The K-6 set are just below the gang and delinquent radar, so far, I believe. Hence guards without arrest power focused there.
I think that you are right! That would make sense. Thanks, @cliffordbrown
Maybe I should move to Florida.
We have a guest room if you’d like to check it out! I’ll even offer to fight off the alligators for you!
So far I haven’t committed a crime bad enough to be sent to Florida for it. (I’ve been saying that for so long that I’m tired of hearing myself say it. I was saying it long before I broke down twelve years ago and visited the Apalachicola area with my wife. It was actually kind of nice back then, but has probably been developed a lot since then. And I’m not sure if it counted as Florida.)
This country is blessed with an abundance of senior citizens looking for work, be it volunteer, or paid. Any punk with a gun looking to shoot up a school should be very afraid of a grey-haired, pony-tailed guy wearing an “I served in Vietnam” tee shirt patrolling the hallways of said school.
Nice. Israel did this in the early Eighties, with the IDF offering training to any family members who wanted to help protect school children. The image of a Jewish grandma pulling a Glock out of her waistband and dealing with a suicide bomber is pleasing, and it has happened more than once. Never underestimate a Jewish grandma.
Same thing in our county in NW Fl – they cancelled the usual summer camps to put money, resources and people in place to train over the summer and be ready to man the schools in September. We have to do something – this cannot keep happening.