With election day next week, major changes could be coming to Livingston Parish schools in order to secure student safety
The February shooting killing 17 people in Parkland, FL, served as a wake-up to the Livingston Parish School Board.
On August 16, 2018, the board unanimously passed a half-cent sales tax that will fund a law enforcement officer in every school in the parish.
The idea for this tax stemmed from the Sheriff of Livingston Parish, Jason Ard.
Ard believes this change, if voted in, will bring about positive changes in school safety across the parish.
Some schools in Livingston, like Walker High School, already have an officer in the school.
According to Walker High School’s principal, Jason St. Pierre, the relationship that is built between the officers and the students makes it more likely, when a student sees something, that student will say something.
St. Pierre believes this change is important for the students as well as others involved in the schools.
”When you have a presence of a law enforcement officer on your campus each and every day, it eases the minds of the teachers, the students and also the parents,” St. Pierre said. “When they see a parked car. When they see an officer at lunch time…[the officers] have a relationship with the kids, so if anything did happen, [the students] have an opportunity to go speak to that law enforcement officer.”
St. Pierre says safety is a top priority for their school and the schools of Livingston Parish. With an officer at the school, the teachers are able to focus on teaching and allow for the trained officer to take care of the safety of students.
“It takes the burden off the teachers. Teachers are in their classroom teaching. They’re getting lesson plans, they’re looking at projectors…they don’t have time, if something were to happen, to jump up and grab a weapon or some time of measure,” St. Pierre explained. “That’s more than they’re trained to do.”
Although the tax passed overwhelmingly in the board, the battle is not over yet.
The people of Livingston Parish make their decision when it comes to a vote on election day on November 6th.
