Parents of slain Stoneman Douglas students blast school board over inaction
SUNRISE, FLA. » The parents and spouses of the Florida high school massacre’s victims called Thursday for the ouster of their county’s school board, saying the members haven’t done enough to bolster security before students return to class next week.
Tony Montalto, president of Stand With Parkland, the group the families formed after the Feb. 14 attack, pointed at a press conference to the Broward County school district’s decision to abort an internal investigation into the Feb. 14 shooting and to delay installing metal detectors at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where his 14-yearold daughter Gina, 13 other students and three staff members died.
“The constant reversals of policy decisions continue to leave our county’s students and teachers at risk and clearly show that there is no unified plan to keep them safe,” Montalto said. “The modern plague of mass shootings in America’s schools forced school districts, administrators and law enforcement across the country to carefully study the lessons of tragedies like Columbine and Sandy Hook. Many acted quickly to protect students and teachers ... In Broward County there has been no sense of urgency.”
Two parents of victims are running for the board in the Aug. 28 election where five of the nine seats will be decided.
The district said in a statement Thursday saying it’s “understandable that the Marjory Stoneman Douglas families feel frustrated,” but the district has made progress. Superintendent Robert Runcie has said police officers or armed guards will be at all 234 district schools starting Wednesday.
After the shooting, Florida became the first state to require all public schools have a police officer, armed guard or armed staff member present when open. An Associated Press survey of the state’s 67 districts found many are struggling to hire enough police officers or guards to cover all schools and, like Broward, are turning to sheriff’s offices and police departments to temporarily fill gaps.
Runcie has said the internal investigation was halted because it conflicted with the work of the state commission that’s investigating the shooting and that logistical problems at Stoneman Douglas delayed installation of metal detectors.
“There is no fast, easy fix and there is no roadmap. The District has dealt with the shock and trauma of the shooting, managing the aftermath of the tragedy and a variety of ongoing investigations, as it continues to evaluate new and effective ways to enhance safety and security throughout the school system,” the statement said.