PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Portsmouth's mayor said city council will approve more than $700,000 on Tuesday to add 12 resource officers to the city's elementary schools.
City leaders said this push comes from an increase in violence among school-age children, and some parents, like Mary Simms, agree they're needed.
"It's just the times that we live in. I can't say we don't need an armed guard at school because we do," Simms said.
Simms' son attends Victory Elementary School, which will soon get a school resource officer.
"If you have trained people there that can assist if a situation arises, I think that's better," said Simms.
Portsmouth Mayor Shannon Glover said school resource officers at the middle and high school levels have reports of firearms being found on campus as well as fights.
"We have armed officers in the buildings that are able to conduct the security that is needed in those buildings and those are all trained and approved officers," Mayor Glover said.
The SROs would come from the Portsmouth Sheriff's Office. Although they haven't been assigned to elementary schools yet, Jermiah Graham, a middle school student, told News 3 he's seen a drastic difference in deputies being in his school.
"Last year it was total chaos, this year it has kind of died down," Graham said.
But Graham said there's still room for improvement. He wants to see the current school officers crack down even more.
"Many kids bring drugs to school and teachers don't be noticing nothing at all," said Graham.
Portsmouth Public schools sent a statement saying:
"We are grateful for this grant funding to help secure additional officers who will support our elementary schools as well our entire SRO program. This is perfect alignment with our ongoing efforts to have school environments that are as safe and secure as possible for our students, staff members and community."
Mayor Glover told News 3 the additional funding will cover the officers' salary, benefits and the equipment associated with the officers' positions. Right now, they're still working out the details of how long this partnership will last with the sheriff's department.
