School Safety Plan Allocates Money, No Gun Reform

Minnesota House Republicans unveiled a school safety plan.  House Education Chair, Jenifer Loon spearheaded the effort.

“All parents want to know that schools are doing everything possible to make sure that their facilities are safe,” said Loon.  “The package is going to encompass about probably about $50 million.”

That money would be used to beef up security at school buildings and to hire more school resource officers.

“It’s going to be huge because what we’ve heard from schools is they want to have the opportunity to make decisions at the local level and the flexibility to use the dollars how they see fit,” explained Rep. Joyce Peppin of Rogers.

Districts like Osseo already have plans in the works to add more digital cameras and more secure entryways.

“The Osseo district has mentioned this specifically, the flexibility with its facility maintenance money, would really go a long ways to helping them accomplish their projects,” said Loon.

The GOP package also calls for allocated money to hire more mental health professionals. One thing the House plan does not call for is any new gun legislation.

“We’ve had some hearings on gun legislation already, we will very likely have more. And as those conversations continue. We hope to find solutions that will actually help to prevent these problems from happening again in the future,” said House Speaker Kurt Daudt.

DFL leader Melissa Hortman of Brooklyn Park, says it doesn’t go far enough because the plan does nothing on gun violence prevention.

Meanwhile, Republican leaders say the $50 million price tag won’t be funded by local property taxes.

 “So, districts will not have a property tax increase, but they’re going to get more money per pupil. So, that’s going to help districts like Robbinsdale,” said Loon.