New school board members sworn-in, discuss school safety
All six Hamilton County school board members who were sworn in on Wednesday morning.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- The new members of the Hamilton County School Board were sworn in to the new roles Wednesday morning at the Hamilton County Courthouse.
Five new members; Steve Slater, Jackie Thomas, Jodi Schaffer, Felice Hadden, and Ben Daughtery, along with returning member Jill Black, all took their oaths of office to be placed on the Hamilton County School Board.
This is over half of the seats on the school board as a whole.
They spoke to what they want to address as a body, including how to turn the tide on the issue of school safety.
Ben Daugherty, the new representative for District 2 said, “Parents should have total piece of mind when it comes to school safety, so my job is to listen and to address any gaps that may exist with that, so there’s going to be some conversations as a result of what’s happened within the past week and a half and we’re going to make sure we are going to put right processes in place to make sure it doesn’t happen.”
Over the first month of classes, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office has reported 13 arrests on school campuses in the county.
Eight of those arrests were for threats of violence.
Out of the five other arrests, three firearms including a stolen gun were found inside of county schools.
This includes a student who was arrested for having a gun inside of East Hamilton Middle/High School on Tuesday, which is one of the schools newly elected member Jodi Schaffer of District 7 represents.
“As a parent with a child in a school where a weapon was recently found, I understand parent’s concerns, and I want to listen to those concerns and make sure we as a board address those concerns. Our most precious treasures are our children and they are the bedrock to our society. So we have a huge responsibility to keep them safe,” said Schaffer.
Those we spoke with say that school safety will be among their top priorities.
Felice Hadden, the new representative for District 10 said, “There are still some incidents that are happening and we have to figure out ways because it’s hard to prevent every single scenario that can happen in a school system. It’s hard to catch every little thing, so we have to work on that. I can’t say exactly how yet but it does have to be addressed so we will be addressing it.”
School facilities is also another key priority for incoming members as the county prepares to invest 250 million into several school project.
Their first meeting as a new body is scheduled for September 19.
