Emotional pleas from scared teachers at Brockton High School have made it from school board meetings to the governor’s desk. The school, located south of Boston, has experienced teacher shortages, budget deficits, and unruly, violent students, prompting school committee members to call on the National Guard for help.
“I suffer from PTSD and anxiety, and sadly, this year has killed me,” said Julie Fairfield, a math teacher at Brockton High School. “I have this last month been one of those teachers that has called out probably twice a week.”
In a letter addressed to the mayor and forwarded to Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, some of the school’s committee members detail the pressing danger teachers and students face each day the bell rings.
“If you support safety in our schools, you will support the National Guard to come in here and keep our students safe,” school committee member Tony Rodrigues said at a press conference on Monday, Feb. 19.
According to the letter, there has been an “alarming” increase in violence between students, students wandering the halls and leaving school without permission, and even students doing drugs in the hallways. But what may be most concerning, according to the letter, is the lack of security at school entrances. Committee members added there has been an increase in trespassing, with people gaining access to the school without authorization.
While a slim majority — four of the seven school committee members — called on the National Guard for help, the rest, including the mayor, do not believe sending in an army is the answer.
“I know there is a lot of negative comments regarding the National Guard coming out here, but we are not asking them to deploy a whole army to our school,” committee member Ana Oliver told reporters. “We are asking for support, especially with the teacher shortage throughout the commonwealth of Massachusetts.”
Members clarified they want support to consist of hall monitors and teachers, rather than firepower and force. Some committee members pointed to the National Guard’s help in distributing COVID vaccinations during the pandemic as an example of the National Guard being used to help communities across the country. Still, not all city officials agree this is the right move.
“That isn’t the role of the National Guard, and uniformed soldiers in a school present a terrible image,” City Councilor at Large Winthrop Farwell Jr. told NBC10 Boston. “School absenteeism and violations of the current code of conduct need to be uniformly and consistently addressed with mandatory parental conferences.”
While it is still uncertain whether Gov. Maura Healey, D, will deploy the National Guard to Brockton High School, she did acknowledge the concerns brought to her desk and added her administration is committed to creating a safe learning environment for all students in the state.
While a local ABC affiliate reported that “many families” also do not agree with sending in the National Guard, other local reports indicate families just want the school’s committee to figure out a way to create a safe learning environment for their children.
