MD Sheriff Wants To Make Safety a Priority

SNOW HILL, Md. — Worcester County Sheriff Reggie Mason is pushing for a school security plan that would put an armed officer in each of the county’s schools beginning this fall.
“A trained active shooter is needed for each school,” Mason said.
Announcing he had “brought my bodyguards with me,” a contingent of supporting law enforcement officers that included Chief Kelvin Sewell of Pocomoke City and Chief Kirk Daugherty of Snow Hill, Mason said during a recent County Commissioners meeting he “worries about (school safety) every night when I go home.
“No child should feel in danger when attending our schools,” he said. -http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130324/NEWS03/130324014/Md-county-s-plan-puts-armed-officer-every-school

Way to go, Reggie!  

Sheriff Mason's Worcester County has 13 public schools and only one active school resource officer, SRO.
In neighboring Wicomico County, the Sheriff’s Office currently has nine officers in 30 schools.  Mason has put forth a plan requesting $1.6 million to hire 13 deputies and necessary supplies.  His new SROs would work 9 months/year in schools and be assigned a road duty during the summer months. He's requesting $1 million in subsequent years to continue funding his school safety initiative.  

Mason's plan has generated some challengers, like Commissioner Virgil Shockley who believes school safety can be achieved with a smaller price tag. 

Commissioner Virgil Shockley suggested an alternative, less costly plan, similar to one used currently in Montgomery County. In Shockley’s plan, SROs would be part-time, employed during the school year only and would not have their own police vehicles, a major expense at more than $500,000. - http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130324/NEWS03/130324014/Md-county-s-plan-puts-armed-officer-every-school

To put the debate in context - the Christina School District has contracts that put one SRO in every secondary school (middle and high school.)  However, our district has schools and program located in 31 different buildings.  Roughly 8 or our 31 campuses have a full-day SROs - none in elementary schools.  Our model is more similar to Wicomico County than to Worcester.  

The BIG Question:  Which security plan is the safer plan?  You tell me...