School safety plan costs will be key
Governor expects spending to be smart, strategic; districts fearful of unfunded legislative mandates.
By the time Gov. Greg Abbott concluded his three-day session on school gun violence Thursday evening, two things had become apparent — proposed solutions won’t come cheap, and those hop- ing for tougher limits on guns are going to be disappointed.
Abbott said the meetings provided more than 100 suggestions that will be winnowed down to a prioritized action plan that will be made public at an unspecified date.
But the governor also listed several suggestions that caught his eye during the mostly private meetings at the Capitol, shifting attention to the next big question — how to pay for many of the pricey solutions in a tough economic climate amid sharp disagreements over education priorities at the Legislature.
Asked about the potential costs, Abbott said his first focus was on
identifying problems and weighing solutions, with important details to follow, including finding the money and deciding whether a special session is needed before the Legislature’s regular session begins in January.
“We do recognize some of these proposals will require more funding. We have not talked about specific funding yet,” Abbott said after Wednesday’s session. “I believe there will be a commitment in the Capitol to make sure that we are smart and strategic in providing the resources that are necessary to keep our fellow citizens and our students safe.”
School districts, many already strapped for cash, are closely watching in fear of unfunded mandates from the Legislature.
“We’ve seen in the past month and a half districts announcing layoffs and budget shortfalls. They already don’t have a lot of money to do a lot of this stuff,” said Dax Gonzalez of the Texas Association of School Boards.
“This has been a storm that has been brewing for years now, ever since the 2011 session,” when lawmakers cut more than $5 billion from the state education budget, Gonzalez said.
Priorities Abbott identified during this week’s meetings — attended by security experts, education experts, advocates, politicians and students from schools targeted in shootings — included:
Creating mental health screening programs in schools, including training teachers to identify students who might pose a threat to themselves or others, and creating on-campus threat-assessment teams.
Hiring more school counselors to focus on behavioral issues and crisis intervention in all grade levels.
Improving access to mental health care for students inside and outside of school.
Upgrading school entrances and exits to improve security, including providing metal detectors where appropriate.
Training students, teachers and staff about how best to relay information about suspicious student activity.
The counselor crunch
New hires can substantially increase costs for wages, benefits and training. Even metal detectors can have hidden costs, requiring personnel — perhaps carrying weapons — to operate the machines and check students who set them off.
But the need for more school counselors was a recurring theme during all three meetings, particularly from student survivors of the May 18 attack that left 10 dead at Santa Fe High School — including several who said waiting times to see a counselor are typically counted in weeks.
Generally, there are not enough school counselors in Texas, though the need can vary greatly district to district, said Jan Friese, executive director of the Texas Counseling Association.
One problem is that many schools try to stretch available resources by having counselors handle other duties, including test monitoring, scheduling, lunch room duty and more — responsibilities that limit their time to see students and perhaps identify those who might harm themselves or others, Friese said.
A good first step, she said, would be to reassign duties that don’t require a counselor’s expertise to less-expensive personnel.
“We strongly recommend that, for the first line of defense, we hire school counselors on campus full time. They are best able to identify students who might benefit from services provided on a referral basis,” Friese said. “If you hire other behavior interventionists or mental health providers without a comprehensive school counseling program, you’re just applying a Band-Aid to the situation.”
Another problem, Gonzalez said, is that school districts faced with controlling costs through layoffs or attrition often target counselors, aides and instructional coaches to keep the most teachers possible.
“Facility upgrades — securing entrances and exits, metal detectors — some of that could probably be taken care of through bonds,” he said. “But you cannot use bonds (to hire personnel). They must be for the facilities, or upgrades to facilities or technology that can last a long time.”
Gun laws debated
Like previous school shootings, the rampage in Santa Fe produced calls for more robust gun laws, though the Republican-controlled Legislature and Abbott strongly favor efforts to expand, not limit, gun rights.
After Wednesday’s roundtable, which included representatives of both sides of the gun control debate, Abbott proclaimed his support for modest changes, including stronger requirements to report lost or stolen firearms and faster deadlines for judges to report court orders that deny people access to guns for safety reasons.
Abbott said there was no consensus, however, on proposals to require background checks before all gun sales, including private transactions, to keep guns away from felons, domestic abusers or those with recognized mental health problems.
Additional discussion also was needed on proposals to hold parents more accountable for children who bring a weapon to school, he said.
The governor also announced his support for ensuring that firearms are safely stored to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. Those discussions will likely focus on public-awareness campaigns. Anything further can expect to face opposition from gun rights advocates, state Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, indicated.
“It is not the government’s business how you store legally owned guns in your home,” Schaefer said Thursday via Twitter.
After Wednesday’s roundtable, which included representatives of both sides of the gun control debate, Abbott proclaimed his support for modest changes.