The Echo

Really, I try not to pick on the folks over at the News Journal.  But, sometimes, I can't keep my mouth shut and perhaps that's why I'm not the best of politicians.  So, here's my vent:

For last couple years, Ron Williams has been singing the Gov's tune when it comes to School Resource Officers.  The Gov. wants to take SROs out of our secondary schools and put them back on the highways.

Markell has suggested replacing the officers in the schools with a specially trained corps of sworn officers who would easily qualify to move up as state troopers with a bit more training. Instead of spending tax money on school resource officers who were trained to investigate burglaries and homicides, the school resource agents would be trained both as police officers and school guidance/social service personnel. http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011103090319

Ron, honey, you just stepped in it.  The Gov's been offering up this idea for three years.  He's never once ventured to tell us what qualified as "specially trained" or its pricetag.  School discipline is hard.  Christina abolished its zero tolerance code of conduct and adopted a model that allows for some real intervention for students who truly have mitigating circumstances.  But, that requires an amount of expertise and experience that only tried, true, and experienced SROs in concert with district officials can deftly apply.  My SROs are my first line of defense in a secondary school.  When a student presents with a weapon, a fight occurs, or fire is set, I need the calm, clear-headed tenacity of a solid officer.  Glorified guidance counselors with tasers won't fit the bill.   
Why, Ron?  Why run this editorial of persuations the same day the Journal reports that my Newark High had a particularly violent week?  The culmulative effect will be a heightened police presence this week - Officers "trained to investigate burglaries and homicides."  Officers that will not be on the road ticketing speeders or cell phone bandits.  And why put our most experienced (and expensive) cops on the traffic beat?  Why not divert the funding the Gov. would have to expend to create his special team of social workers-come-cops to create your highway patrol?  A greenback has to earn his stripes somewhere and schools should not be training grounds for a career in law enforcement, nor should they become stepping stones in the career ladder.

My guess is that the truth is in the numbers - as in, a highway patrol will generate income for the state - through increased tickets written to all the folks speeding up Route 1 while calling grandma and playing Angry Birds on their smart phones.  But, why does the Gov. and Ron need to pull some of the best officers from our schools to do this?  They don't.