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BROCKTON, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Four members of the Brockton School Committee have requested that the National Guard be sent into Brockton High School to deal with staffing problems and student disorder.
Claudio Gomes, Ana Oliver, Tony Rodrigues, and Joyce Asack wrote a letter to Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan expressing their concern for the state of the high school and student safety there.
Rodrigues explained more about their request for aid from the National Guard. “This isn’t something that is negative. The National Guard does bring positivity. We use them to deploy COVID vaccinations.”
Rodrigues said that using the National Guard will help with fights, drug use and endangerment of students at the high school. “Where we are in the city of Brockton, we’re looking for support with the National Guard to come in and act as substitute teachers.” They would also act as hall monitors at the high school as well as in the elementary and middle schools.
Oliver gave more details about the nature of the request. “We’re not asking them to deploy a whole army to our school. We’re asking for support, especially with the teacher shortage throughout the Commonwealth.”
Oliver added that they need support to deal with students who are causing problems in the school. “We have some great students in Brockton. They’re doing excellent work. They’re coming in and getting their education. But we do have some [students] that are continuing to not do what they’re supposed to be doing, and that’s what we need help with.”
Mayor Sullivan expressed that he did not support the idea, reported WBZ-TV.
Governor Maura Healey would have to approve the request in order for any members of the National Guard to be deployed.
Read More: National Guard Presence Requested At Brockton Schools
WBZ NewsRadio’s Jim MacKay spoke with parents whose children attend Brockton High School. “Nobody knows how we as parents feel after our kids encounter these types of situations," one person told MacKay.
“I don’t want to talk about what’s happening too much longer,” another parent said, “because it’s allowing more of it to occur," referring to the safety issues facing their children.
Another parent shared how her daughter expressed being scared at school. "She texts me, she says, ‘I’m never safe here. I want to get out of here.’”
One mother said that her daughter "was freaked out and all of her friends were crying" after a recent fight that broke out in the hallway outside their lockers. “The teacher was trying to keep them safe,” added one of the parents.
But some parents said they do not want the National Guard in the school, as some school committee members have suggested. “I think there are plenty of different security measures that can be taken.”
WBZ NewsRadio’s Suzanne Sausville contributed to reporting in this story.
WBZ NewsRadio's Jim MacKay (@JimMacKayOnAir) reports.
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