Broward To Hire Around 80 Armed Guards For Upcoming School Year

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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – After intense debate, the Broward School Board voted Tuesday to hire roughly 80 armed guards to be placed at mostly elementary schools for the 2018-19 school year.

The state passed a law after the Stoneman Douglas massacre in February that requires every school in Florida to have armed personnel in the event of an active shooter.

The Broward School district plans to have a mix of school resource officers and armed guards when school resumes August 15.

The district will start advertising for the armed guard positions on Wednesday.

Applicants must have at least two years but preferably four years of experience in law enforcement or military training.

They must pass a background check and psychological evaluation.

They will undergo 132 hours of Broward Sheriff's Office training. The salary range is between $25 and $33 thousand dollars a year for ten months of work.

Members of the group 'Moms Demand Action' who fight for sensible gun laws were in the audience and afterward expressed reservations about the board's forced decision.

"I think the state should be ashamed. It's ridiculous it has to be this way," said teacher Deanna Ferello.

The board also voted not to rehire Andrew Medina and David Taylor, the unarmed guards at Stoneman Douglas who were criticized for not doing enough to stop accused shooter Nikolas Cruz.

"I think it's a good decision. They did not meet the job description" said April Schentrup.

Schentrup, a school principal whose daughter was killed in the mass shooting got the board's vote to be named director of school safety and security.

Schentrup says she is uniquely qualified for her new position.

"I feel because of my daughter, and I still have another daughter, I want kids to be safe," she said.