STEWART COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's still unclear what action, if any, Tennessee lawmakers will take during their August special session about access to firearms.
But the legislature did agree to millions of dollars to upgrade security systems and armed guards at all Tennessee public schools and grants for security upgrades at private schools.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed that bill into law Wednesday morning. It includes $230 million for school safety improvements along with money to place at least one Homeland Security agent in all 95 Tennessee counties. It may not change much for big counties like Davidson, but for smaller ones, the changes will be noticeable.
In Stewart County High School, school safety has always been top of mind for Deputy Tim Morgan, especially since the Covenant shooting.
"We have a bus entrance for the kids in the morning to be dropped off," explained Morgan, who also serves as SCHS's Student Resource Officer.
Part of his duties includes making sure all the doors that are supposed to be locked stay that way.
"What happens is — people open them and the locks will get stuck in the down position so then they’ll push right back open," said Deputy Morgan.
But considering not every Tennessee school has an SRO, lawmakers passed a bill earlier this year that would guarantee every single state public school has at least one resource officer paid by the state budget.
"It’s important to have somebody there," said Stewart County Sheriff Frankie Gray.
Gray considers himself one of the lucky Tennessee sheriffs.
"We’ve got four schools and we’ve got five SROs. But some counties are not as fortunate, and I think with the climate we’re in now, you’ve got to have some sort of SROs. It’s a necessity now," said Gray.
Gray believes the law allows for flexibility, meaning counties like Stewart County can allocate those extra SRO salaries in other ways. "I can raise the level of pay on my deputies and hopefully that’s going to allow me to keep good deputies," he said.
A spokesperson for Gov. Bill Lee clarified after our interview that the money for SROs has to be used specifically for SROs, but that doesn't prevent Sheriff Gray from reallocating money he's currently spending on SROs to be used for something else within his department.
The law also allows for schools to apply for state funding for security upgrades. Deputy Morgan showed NewsChannel 5 a new, single secured entryway for SCHS that was just installed by the state last month.
"If it’s a student, she’ll let him in. If it’s a parent they’ll have to wait out here for their student to come out to them," said Deputy Morgan. "Now, we have one place where people come in and go out, which makes it a lot easier to keep secure."
The new law also sets in place a multi-tiered accountability plan that ensures all exterior school doors are locked while students are in school, along with shooter drills for school leaders and law enforcement.
