School employees and parents speak out against prioritizing armed officers over counselors

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — As Brieanne Buttner cooked dinner for her daughter and talked to her about her day, she was left wondering whether her daughter would be safe at school the next day.

She feels like schools aren’t 100 percent safe and perhaps never will be.

Arizona State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne announced he is prioritizing armed officers in schools in grants rather than school counselors.

Buttner said she’s already seen staff leave the teaching profession and said Horne’s move wouldn’t make schools safer.

“I think that that’s the main reason why our schools are not as safe as they can be, is because we don’t have enough staff,” Buttner said.

She said Horne prioritizing armed officers makes her sad, scared, and disappointed and said it’s not clear how schools would handle building relationships between students and armed officers.

Buttner said schools should be prioritizing mental health personnel instead.

“I have already been the type of educator that acts as a counselor to my students for a long time but I think it’s going to increase the amount of need,” she said.

As TUSD parent and employee Corina Ontiveros picked up her daughter, she was appreciative of the security TUSD already has, like doors that only allow people to go in the building if they’re buzzed in from the inside.

She said putting armed officers in schools isn’t a move that would make students safer. She said it would put them at risk of danger.

As for schools dictating their own priorities, she said it should be up to the individual schools rather than the State.

She said they should fund more school counselors and social workers.

“The emotional needs of K to twelfth grade children is important and it’s being severely ignored and misplaced at this point in our system,” she said.

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