INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. — A group of Indian River County parents went before the school board Monday night to emphasize safety in schools.
They said they want to make sure that the youngest students in the district aren't forgotten.
"They shouldn't be doing these drills all the time," parent Katie Carrimax said. "My first grader has PTSD just from the drills."
The school district said there are school resource deputies on every campus, along with more than 968 cameras and single-point entries on all campuses.
"Students shouldn't have to go through that to go to school, and if they have to look like they're going into a jail then we maybe should make better gun laws," Carrimax said.
The district has the Fortify Florida app but is looking into a program that would use artificial intelligence to identify a weapon by working through school cameras.
Moms, under the banner of the "Indian River Parents Group," are asking the school board to improve school security.
"All the shootings and everything that's happening around the world is scary for everyone," said LaMircle McGee, who has a child in elementary school in the county and two more youngsters that will join in the coming years. "Why not get out in front of it and beat it before it happens?"
She said there isn't one specific thing that spurred her to act, but she'd like to see more cameras and added perimeter fencing.
Another concern the moms have is if there's an active shooter situation the youngest students could be the most defenseless.
Jon Teske, the director of school safety and emergency operations for the school district, said they are in compliance with all state regulations and they complete safety risk assessments for all county schools annually.
"You have to look at the big picture," Teske said. "What can we do that's quick and fast that will help save lives?"
He met with the parent group recently.
"Our job is to listen to stakeholders, listen to our community," Teske said. "We can't implement everything because there are constraints and barriers, but we can make things better."
McGee said the meeting was very informative and productive.
"They were awesome," McGee said. "I just want to be a helping hand to them and do what I can to protect everyone’s kids."
So far this year, there have been four cases involving weapons on school grounds, including three in the past three months.
