Law enforcement at work
Hamilton County Sheriff Austin Garrett, at the request of Hamilton County Commissioner Warren Mackey, D-Lake Vista, made a presentation to the commission on Wednesday and said something that may have taken those in attendance or listening online aback, especially after a raft of arrests of students on charges of making threats of mass violence.
“Our schools,” said the sheriff, “are the safest they’ve ever been.”
What Garrett meant is he and his department, as well as other area law enforcement, are doing more than they’ve ever done to make sure schools are safe.
He said, for instance, Hamilton County is the first in the state to fill every spot for a school resource officer or other safety officer in every school, including charter schools. The cost of each of those, he said, is $75,000, most of which is covered by the state. But the county commission (along with other municipalities) covers part of the rest, which gives it and taxpayers “skin in the game.”