On June 27 the Montgomery County Board of Education held a Business Meeting.
During the public comments section where community members can voice their opinions. Christine Handy, on behalf of the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals (MCAAP), voiced concern about safety for principals and administrators in county elementary schools.
“We have witnessed a rise in disgruntled or irate parents and community members who displayed increasingly aggressive behavior towards our staff especially our school leaders,” said Handy.
She recounted two instances of male parents threatening female administrators. In one case a parent had to be banned from the property after he invaded the principal’s personal space. The principal had to call for the assistance of her cluster security leader when the parent came to pick up his child later on. In another case a parent noted to an assistant principal “I know you work late.”
“Currently we have full time security assistance in place in out middle and high schools, our 136 elementary schools do not have security assistance,” said Hardy. This leaves the task to occasional visits from roving security assistance or cluster leaders.
According to Handy MCPS has recently added 10 additional security assistants to the operating budget. Handy advocated that the new security personnel be allocated to certain elementary schools. She also proposed, on behalf of MCAAP, for MCPS to conduct a study of elementary schools and the safety measures in place. She urged them to include the voices of school leaders to address their safety needs.
“Our teachers and staff strive to provide a secure and nurturing learning environment for our students. However, their ability to do so is compromised when they feel threatened or unsafe. It is imperative that we prevent our schools from becoming places where visitors can intimidate or endanger dedicated staff,” said Handy.
