Board to deliberate on security contract with an external agency

On Tuesday, the Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) board is scheduled to meet in order to make a decision on whether to engage the services of an external security firm with a provision for occasional armed and unarmed officers. According to the proposal, the district may request these officers in situations of a major event or when there is a shortage of security personnel at the campus.

Contract terms proposed

 

The draft agreement would be for five years, from December 9, 2020, to December 10, 2025. As per the terms detailed in the plan, MNPS may incur a total expenditure of $500,000 over the entire period, which translates to a maximum annual amount of $100,000. Financing for the security services will be drawn from the district's general budget and federal grants. Deployment of additional officers will be under the jurisdiction of the district's existing Safety and Security Team.

Why now

Along with the Covenant school shooting and The shooting at Antioch High school, among others, the violent incidents in the district have escalated the need for the district to increase security. MNPS has outfitted high schools with weapon-detection scanners (from Evolv) and plans to install them in middle schools as well. The district also deploys school resource officers, AI-based camera monitoring, and works on building stronger relationships with students and their families.

The next step

The scheduled time of the board meeting is 5 p.m. Tuesday. In the case of board approval, MNPS will have the liberty to engage security officers from outside whenever the need arises, such as at high-profile events or during a shortage of ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌staff.