The Gainesville City School System announced plans Monday night to hire armed security guards for every school in the district.
During a Gainesville School Board meeting, Superintendent Jeremy Williams said the decision came in the wake of the deadly May shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The Uvalde shooting resulted in the deaths of 19 students and two teachers.
"We're blessed to have a relationship with the Gainesville Police Department, Chief Jay Parrish and his team, we have five SROs within the district," Williams said. "But at the end of the day, people always want to know what else we can do to get better."
Williams said the school board plans to adopt a policy within the next month that will allow for the hiring of the armed guards at each school in the city.
The district is looking for guards with successful law enforcement experience, whether they are currently employed in the field or retired. The guards would not replace the SROs in the district.
"We need SROs to do what they need to do, which is build relationships, have that trust," Williams said. "But this is more of a set of eyes and ears and just feet on the ground for us to see what's happening in our schools. If something is off, let's know about it ahead of time rather than waiting until the last minute."
The district also plans to hire a safety and security manager as part of the precautionary measure.
