By State Affairs
Superintendent Tom Horne is once again urging lawmakers to funnel additional funding to school safety programs to keep pace with the rising demand for counselors and police officers.
Horne is advocating for an additional $40 million to keep staffing at current levels. If he doesn’t get it, schools could lose social workers and counselors due to a state law that prioritizes police officers on campus, he said.
As of the recent deadline for new school safety grant requests, schools requested 801 counselors and 743 officers, totalling an ask of $187 million, Horne said.
The $82 million program currently funds 588 counselors and 498 armed officers at 1,155 schools statewide. And while Horne is asking for at least $40 million, he said the need for additional funding “is substantially greater, which means appropriating an even higher amount would be ideal.”
State law allows the department to “prioritize program proposals for school resource officer, juvenile probation officer and school safety officer grants” to districts and schools that share costs with local law enforcement agencies and the courts.
