A pair of Nashville charter schools may get dedicated police officers in the fall. During the city’s budget hearings, the police department requested additional positions related to the growth of charter schools.
Charters are publicly funded and privately run. Until now, that has meant the schools are largely on their own for security. But police chief Steve Anderson
said the time has come for the city to bear some responsibility.
“We need to ensure that charter schools have the same benefits as traditional public schools,” he told Mayor Karl Dean.
In Metro, every middle and high school has at least one resource officer. The request for the fall is to put them in two middle schools that have been converted into charters by LEAD Academy: Cameron College Prep and Brick Church College Prep.
But not all charter leaders are clamoring for the police presence.
“We would always welcome more protection for our students as long as it comes with clear protections against any force being used on our kids,” said Ravi Gupta, who heads Liberty Collegiate, Nashville Prep and Nashville Academy of Computer Science.
The Metro Police Department is also requesting additional money to fund more crossing guards at five new charter schools opening this fall.