(Headline USA) Officials have asked Gov. Maura Healey to send in the Massachusetts National Guard to stop violence and address security concerns at a troubled high school in a city south of Boston, some school committee members said Monday.
Four of the seven members of the Brockton School Committee backed the National Guard request amid teacher shortages and budget deficits, but city officials weren’t unanimous in their support.
The governor’s office acknowledged the concerns about Brockton High School, where teachers reported fighting and drug use in the hallways, and verbal abuse of staff.
“Our administration is committed to ensuring that schools are safe and supportive environments for students, educators, and staff,” Healey’s office said.
Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan, who serves as chair of the school committee, said he forwarded the request to the governor on Friday, even though he opposed it.
“National Guard soldiers are not the answer,” he said.
School committee members who backed the request held a news conference Monday to press their case for help. They said National Guard personnel could be used as hall monitors or even substitute teachers.
“We’re not asking them to deploy a whole army to our school. We’re asking for support,” committee member Ana Oliver said.
“If you support safety in our schools, you will support the National Guard to come in here and keep our schools safe,” said Tony Rodrigues, another committee member.
Students are not in class this week. The police chief will provide an update on efforts to address the problems after the winter break concludes, the mayor said.
Healey recently deployed the National Guard to help address the influx of illegal immigrants resulting from the Biden administration’s open borders.
It was unclear whether immigration was a contributing factor in the issues related to Brockton, although statistics have shown that the crisis is putting a heavy burden on schools nationwide, which are already struggling with post-pandemic learning loss.
According to data compiled by the Center for Immigration Studies, which is part derived from Census Bureau statistics, as of last June nearly 30% of public school enrollment (about 3 million students) from immigrant households were from homes headed by an illegal immigrant.
Moreover, almost one-fourth of all U.S. public school students were from immigrant families of legal and illegal status (about 11 million total), and about one-fifth of those lived in poverty.
New analysis from the Center for Immigration Studies provides a visual representation of immigration’s (legal and illegal together) impact on public schools at the local level.https://t.co/O3ZR3iHrtB
— Center for Immigration Studies (@CIS_org) June 21, 2023
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
