Horne marks National School Resource Officers Appreciation Day

For immediate release: February 15, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne marks National School Resource Officers Appreciation Day

February 15 honors officers who serve students and educators

PHOENIX – All 307 School Resource Officers in Arizona have received an appreciative letter from State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne in honor of today’s National School Resource Officers Appreciation Day.

Horne wrote, “I want to take the opportunity of National SRO Day to express deep thanks to all of you for the work you do in our schools.

 My nightmare has been that a maniac will invade a school and kill 20 students, as happened in other states, and could happen here, and there is no one there to protect them. If that were to happen, the parents of the students would never recover.

If the parents found out that the school could have had an SRO funded by our office, and they chose not to, you could imagine how the parents would feel about THAT decision making. That is why I pushed hard for schools to adopt SRO programs and will continue to do so. One of you may be responsible for saving those students’ lives, and their parents’ mental health. I could think of no greater achievement for anyone.

 In addition, by teaching law courses, and relating to the students, the students develop a relationship with you, and their attitude toward police officers becomes much better for the rest of their lives. As some of you may remember from when I was Attorney General, I have always been a very strong supporter of getting all law-abiding citizens to support our law-enforcement officers, and I pledge to continue to do that as much as I can. 

 I am very grateful to all of you.”

In early 2023, Horne began implementation of the nearly $100 million school safety grant program that places armed police officers on school campuses. He urged schools to prioritize this, noting that any delay in implementing this goal would leave schools more vulnerable to a tragic catastrophe. The number of law enforcement officers, including School Safety Officers (SSOs), in schools has nearly doubled. The SSO model ensures an officer is on a campus at all times when a school is unable to have a dedicated SRO.

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