A mother who says she was able to roam around a high school in Texas unquestioned wants better security in the schools.
Stacey Alderete said during a South San Antonio Independent School District meeting this week that she dressed like a student and threw on a backpack before entering the South San High School unimpeded.
She posted a video on Facebook she recorded of her experiment.
She said she walked through an open door and roamed the hallways for more than 20 minutes without being confronted by anybody.
Alderete said that since she left her position on the school board, she claims that a number of security officer positions have been cut.
Her daughter attends South San High School while her son attends a school in the same district.
She said she made the video in the hopes of directing attention to keeping or increasing funding for security officer positions.
According to KENS5, her school district sent out a letter just days after the Florida high school shooting to local families and staff stating that the children’s safety is their number one priority. Stacey Alderete says that making a cut in security contradicts their mission.
“We are demanding that they give back our officers and that they add more,” Alderete said.
Budget cuts being discussed includes less funding for officers, the superintendent said during the meeting.
There are currently four officers at the high school—two officers at each middle school, and two officers across nine elementary schools.
One potential solution called for after the Parkland, Florida shooting is increased security in schools.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where the shooting occurred, had one such officer at the time of the massacre that left 17 people dead.
However, the officer never encountered the shooter.
The number of officers in Stoneman Douglas was cut in half due to budget cuts.
Alderete said that in addition to beefed up security, she wants schools to conduct active shooter drills.
“I asked my daughter, ‘What do you do if someone comes into the schools?’ She said, ‘I don’t know, run,’” Alderete said. ”My message tonight is that our children need to come first. Not just our children, but our teachers and our staff on our campus. You know, their safety should be priority.”
President Donald Trump has suggested that a certain percentage of teachers at schools be trained and armed with concealed carry as a cost-effective deterrent to would-be school shooters.
Trump wrote on Twitter that due to the time it takes for first responders to get to the scene, “Highly trained, gun adept, teachers/coaches would solve the problem instantly, before police arrive. GREAT DETERRENT!”
