Kim Root manages the Michigan State Police Office of School Safety. She says school shootings get a lot of attention, but there are a variety of situations to be handled by resource officers who have law enforcement and crisis response training.
“So, you know, having somebody who’s specially trained to respond in an emergency, regardless of what that emergency is, can be very beneficial.”
Many schools at the front of the line for funding are located in rural or remote areas.
Root says requests far outstripped the nearly 25 million dollars available for the program. It was approved as part of this year’s state budget.
