Peach Tree Times

City leaders were welcomed to the Governor's Mansion recently for Gov. Brian Kemp's roundtable discussion on school safety.

A group of approximately three dozen state lawmakers, law enforcement officials and school superintendents filled the room, discussing largely what schools need to do beyond building and security improvements, a recent FOX 5 Atlanta news report said.

"As the parents of three daughters, one of whom is now a public-school teacher, we're very mindful of how important safety is in our schools today," Kemp said during the roundtable, quoted in the report.

Gov. Brian Kemp | Governor Brain Kemp/Facebook

While much of the focus in the past has been on securing the perimeter of campuses, Fulton County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney noted there is an increasing need to address student concerns and individual needs to prevent a crisis from occurring, the report said. With that, Kemp pointed to actions he's taken over the last four years, such as the $5,000 pay raises for school teachers and the $30,000 school safety grants the State offered for every public school back in 2019, as steps in the right direction. 

Among other discussions, superintendents in attendance highlighted work their districts have done to help students in the past, the report said. Forsyth County Superintendent Jeff Bearden mentioned his district's "Student Advocacy Specialists," put in place to work with students in crisis and emphasizing those who may be dealing with thoughts of self-harm or harming others. 

While the roundtable got discussions rolling, participants anticipate that this is just the first of what will become an ongoing dialogue, the report said.