Sun Sentinel Broward Edition

Allies: Andrew Pollack focuses on politician­s.

- By Skyler Swisher Staff writer sswisher@sunsentine­l.com or 561-243-6634

Andrew Pollack, whose daughter was murdered in the Parkland shooting, is promoting an eight-point plan for school safety, and supporting candidates he thinks can change Broward County.

Pollack detailed his proposal — dubbed the Pollack plan — Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale. Pollack has been an outspoken critic of the Broward Sheriff’s Office and School Board. His plan calls for hardening schools, rather than implementi­ng gun control reforms being pushed by student activists.

“We should all be working on changing the school board so we can bring change to the schools,” Pollack said. “Driving around in a bus in another state is not going to help Broward. I like these kids. I don’t blame them. They are treated like rock stars, but let’s work on Broward. I am here to fix Broward.”

Pollack’s plan calls for establishi­ng single points of entry with metal detectors at schools, recruiting

safety volunteers, increasing mental health resources and arming staff or other safety specialist­s through a guardiansh­ip program. The proposal is available on his website, americansf­orclass.org.

His daughter, Meadow, was one of 17 people killed in the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Pollack praised progress he thinks is being made in Polk County, which he said has moved more quickly to train civilians to stop school shooters. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and the school system are running the program, which will hire and train 90 safety specialist­s at a salary of $30,000 plus benefits — less than a school resource officer would earn.

Many of the cadets in Polk County are military veterans and retired law enforcemen­t officers, Pollack said, adding that the sheriff told them that if someone comes into a school to hurt children they should “kill them graveyard dead.”

“You are not going to get people speaking like this here because of political correctnes­s,” Pollack said. “That’s what has got to go.”

Despite initial reservatio­ns, the Broward County School Board authorized a guardiansh­ip program to comply with a state law requiring every school have a police officer or someone with a gun.

The job will require at least two years experience in law enforcemen­t or the military.

Appearing with Pollack at Wednesday’s event was Richard Mendelson, who is trying to unseat school board member Laurie Rich Levinson, and Bruce Nathan, a Republican candidate for governor.

“But let’s work on Broward. I am here to fix Broward.” Andrew Pollack, the Pollack plan

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