Pubdate: Mon, 14 Feb 2005
Source: Tullahoma News (TN)
Copyright: The Tullahoma News 2005
Contact:  http://www.tullahomanews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2031

RESOURCE OFFICERS

The question is: Is it necessary to have a resource officer in
Tullahoma schools, especially Tullahoma High School. It seems to us to
be a simple, albeit expensive, undertaking. Use a police officer,
already trained in recognizing the signs of drug dealing and use and
well versed in the laws pertinent to those situations.

But the issue is here again. How safe are our kids in Tullahoma
schools? Should and could the community be doing more to keep drugs
out of our schools' hallways and off school property; do we need to
offset violence and crime with a positive approach?

Make no mistake about it. Drugs are present in our schools. Students
admit it. Teachers see it.

It's time we took our heads out of the sand and looked
around.

We don't want to see the image of our schools tarnished. But we also
don't want to see problems with drugs and crime and violence ignored
because we don't want to give neighboring communities and parents the
impression that drugs are rampant in our school system.

We may not have reached the level yet where drugs are the norm. But,
we believe, we are perilously close.

We see a resource officer at our schools as a positive move. The
presence of such an individual, well-trained in what to look for, able
to relate to our young people and willing to establish a relationship
of trust and honesty with students and faculty would have only a
positive impact on our youngsters.

The use of resource officers is working nicely in some neighboring
schools, including Coffee, Bedford, Moore, Franklin and other school
systems for some time.

The Mayor's Drug Task Force with the city and school officials,
especially teachers and administrators, have both come out in favor of
this. A "Letter to the Editor" from a grandparent published in The
News pleaded with officials to use a resource officer and gave support
to the idea. Parents and members of the community have been urged to
voice their opinion to the school board and Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

The school administration and school board have not yet commented on
the issue one way or the other. But in years past, the school
administration has claimed there is no need to put a police officer in
the school, that video security cameras are sufficient for school security.

A Coffee County sheriff's deputy was hired as the resource officer at
Coffee County Central High School in 2001; Coffee County Middle School
also has a sheriff's deputy as a resource officer.

These officers have developed a rapport with the students that often
prevents crime from happening at school. They are also trained in law
enforcement so situations are handled properly; teachers are not
trained in law enforcement.

Teachers should not have to worry about students breaking criminal
laws at school and students who are not involved in criminal activity
(drugs, assaults, theft, etc.) should not have to be exposed to it in
an academic atmosphere.

A sage once said that our eyes are the windows to our souls. It must
follow then that our schools and our children are windows to our
society. Watching what happens in our schools and how our young people
behave will give us an idea about what goes on in those kids' families.

These things will happen in school because they happen in the
community. It's not necessarily the school's fault, but the problem
cannot be ignored.

Parents are concerned about drugs in the school and the fact that
students don't seem to think they will get caught. Teachers are, and
should be, more concerned about teaching their classes than listening
or looking for problems like students selling or using drugs at
school. We see a resource officer in school full time as an effective
deterrent.

Sources say that while teachers and other school officials favor a
school resource officer at THS, they do not want to imply that there
is a battle between the school and school administrators. And, we
certainly don't want to imply that there is conflict between the
school administration and school faculty.

We need to face the fact that school is not what it was when many of
us were attending elementary, middle and high school classes. It's a
much different world. Wishing it were different isn't going to make it
different and we aren't doing our kids any favors by sweeping things
under the rug.

Not having a school resource officer doesn't mean there are no
problems at the school and having one doesn't mean that the school is
any worse than any other. It's simply a sign of the times. It's sad
but true. 
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MAP posted-by: SHeath(DPFFLorida)