Wisconsin DOJ renews calls to fund the Office of School Safety after Nashville school shooting
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Following Monday's school shooting in Nashville, the Wisconsin Department of Justice is renewing calls for funding to keep school safety efforts going here.
The Wisconsin DOJ Office of School Safety was created back in 2018 after the Parkland, Florida school shooting. Since then, the director says their office has grown but existing funding is close to drying up.
"Our children and our teachers deserve to work and attend school in schools that are safe. At the Office of School Safety, we will not give up as we work to create safe school environments," said Trish Kilpin, director at the Wisconsin Office of School Safety.
Kilpin says she was devasted to hear of this week's Nashville school shooting and wants to reassure Wisconsin families that efforts to maintain safety in our schools are ongoing.
She says acts of targeted violence are preventable. "People don't just snap when they commit these acts. They make a decision that they're going to plan an act of violence for their own personal reasons. In that planning and preparation, they demonstrate behaviors that are observable to those around them," she said.
The Office of School Safety provides resources to help develop safety plans and they teach threat assessment, among other anti-violence efforts.
"When ACT 143 was passed here in Wisconsin, it created our office, but we do not have stable, permanent funding for our office," said Kilpin.
The office has been getting by off federal grants and COVID relief dollars, but Kilpin says for them to continue their work, state lawmakers need to make room in the budget.
"We need a commitment from our legislators here in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin DOJ has requested that the legislator permanently fund the Office of School Safety in the next budget so we can continue our important work," she said.
Republican legislators have said they don't plan on addressing gun control in the next budget.
The Office of School Safety has resources available to schools and families including signs to look for and how to report potential targeted school violence.
They also run a 24/7 tipline called Speak Up, Speak Out Wisconsin where people can report concerns. That number is 1-800-MY-SUSO-1.
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