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Sarasota school district receives 800 emails in 3 days on school safety

Suggestions range from gun control to putting armed personnel in schools.
School lockers

SARASOTA, Fla. -- School districts are looking at new ways to make schools safe for our kids, and the

Sarasota school district asked for input from the community, setting up a "school safety feedback" email.

It got an overwhelming response.

The district has received nearly 800 emails in three days from concerned citizens with suggestions.

“Federal regulations need to change … schools should not overreact so it doesn’t victimize the innocent.” That’s how Dianne Shedlock started her email to the school district. She has a 13-year-old daughter in high school.

Shedlock says schools today are not safe enough for her daughter.

“We have an open campus … You have trust it not to happen but you know anybody can get on campus with a gun,” she wrote.

Shedlock sent in a list of suggestions. She began with adding mental health checks to a student’s annual physical.

“Routine backpack checks and scanners even … Anonymous complaint box … programs to release aggression and anxiety at this age,” added Shedlock .

Clinical psychologist Lynn Cooper wrote in too. She says only a small percentage of people with mental health issues are violent.

“All this focus on mental health is a red herring, a distraction against what really needs to be done,” said Cooper.

She says the answer is in more gun control.

“The only way of dealing with this is to get automatic rifles out of the hands of anybody except the military. Vote the rascals out of office who are taking money from the NRA and refusing to put the safety of children first,” said Cooper.

Shedlock wants kids to be protected. “Don’t overreact and create a militant state. Address the real underlying issues.”

Many people wrote in asking for more school resource officers.

“For me, more needs to be done,” said Sarasota Sheriff Tom Knight. He recommends hiring retired law enforcement officers and military veterans to patrol schools.

The sheriff says the security members will carry a concealed weapon and wear street clothes to blend in.

“They’re there to be the eyes and ears to safeguard; if the worst-case scenario happens they’re trained to handle it.”

Knight says their instinct will kick in in an emergency.

“They will go toward the problem, not away from the problem,” he said.

Knight says the security personnel will receive the same active shooter training as any deputy and the latest tools. The school district will pay for their salaries.

Sarasota school officials said they welcomed his suggestion.

"The use of retired military and law enforcement officers to support our SROs and other staff is one of many ideas we will consider as we take a holistic approach to school safety and security," a district spokesperson said. "Sheriff Knight and his team, along with other local law enforcement and emergency responders, will be part of a much larger contingency to develop the right strategies and practices needed to further enhance the security of our schools."

But there’s a hurdle—state law would need to change to allow concealed weapons on campus. If the law doesn’t change, Knight says he has other options.

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