Pickett Co. Sheriff Supports Governor’s School Safety Proposal

The Pickett County Schools….one system that could benefit from a state plan unveiled today.

Governor Bill Haslam’s Workgroup on School Safety proposed a doubling of recurring school safety grant funding. That funding could be used to help counties who do not have school resource officers.

Pickett County Sheriff Dana Dowdy said he supports the plan because his county doesn’t have any SROs at the current time.

“My newer officers don’t have any of the training,” Dowdy said. “My officers are patrolling the schools in-and-out several times a day per shift, just trying to keep them safe until we can figure out a solution with the problem.”

Like many schools without SROs, a lack of funding is one of the primary concerns for hiring SROs in Pickett County.

“My budget is strained and that is the big issue for me and the school system,” Dowdy said. “That’s a big problem.

Dowdy said he has 12 deputies on staff and many of them have to be pulled off the roads to to check on schools throughout the day.

The school safety working group also recommended undertaking a first ever security assessment for all public school facilities statewide to identify areas of risk. That assessment would be complete before school begins in the fall.

The General Assembly will consider Haslam’s $30 million dollar school safety budget proposal over the next few weeks.

Senator Paul Bailey and State Representative Ryan Williams both members of the workgroup