MNPD requests SROs for every elementary school in Davidson County

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)- Metro Nashville is getting closer to the ultimate goal of a school resource officer in every elementary school. There is already at least one School Resource Officer (SRO) in every middle and high school, but staffing issues have made getting an officer in elementary schools difficult.

"We just got a request this week. The Metro Nashville Police Department, they are now placing officers in the elementary schools of Davidson County," said Jeff Long, the Commissioner and Governor's Homeland Security Advisor before Governor Bill Lee.

During a budget meeting this week, Long updated the governor on school safety throughout Tennessee.

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"There are people who will do ill will to us at any given time," explained JC Bowman, the Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee. "Just that police car being parked outside of the elementary school, serves as a detriment to keep people away from coming on there to do ill will toward our children."

Schools across Middle Tennessee have become accustomed to messages threatening to "shoot up the school." A 17-year-old student of High Road School was recently charged in juvenile court for making a threat of mass violence against the school.

It's one of a string of school threats investigated by state and local officials in recent months.

"School threats, as you're well aware, have been up. We've had over 700 school threats this year that our agents have worked, averaging about 11 per day for a period of time," said Long.

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In order to keep students safe, officials are working to make sure an extra layer of security is in place.

Metro police applied for an SRO Grant Application this year to cover 52 schools: 29 middle, 16 high, and seven elementary schools. The department said they are gradually adding elementary schools as staffing allows.

The move comes after the Covenant School shooting , which sparked outrage from parents and educators, who wanted more security measures within schools. At the time, MNPD explained they simply didn't have the manpower to staff every school.

In August, just before the start of the new school year, the Metro Nashville Public School District announced it began an initiative to post community police officers at elementary schools "to provide support to those school teams as well as offering visibility as a deterrence to threats."

This initiative will continue into the new school year, while some elementary schools will transition into a full-time trained SRO who also provides exterior visibility and support for schools, as well as working with administrators to develop and monitor safety plans and promote positive relationships and provide mentorship to students.

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"There is no other factor more important than putting somebody there at the door when somebody walks in to make sure they have a purpose for being in that school, and so that's the greatest deterrent to making sure people don't get hurt in our schools," Bowman said.

MPND said they are recruiting veteran officers from other jurisdictions, encouraging former SROs to apply so that after training and probationary period, they could take a position at a school in Nashville.