HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Henrico County Schools plans to increase its security staff by adding more than 50 school security officers (SSOs) for the upcoming school year.
The 53 SSOs are school staff members and not uniformed police officers.
The majority of these officers will focus on campuses featuring open-air walkways or breezeways across the county.
Henrico Superintendent Dr. Amy Cashwell emphasized the importance of tailoring safety plans to individual school needs while maintaining confidentiality around specific strategies.
“I don’t want to give a lot of safety information that would jeopardize any components of our plan that we wouldn’t want publicly known for safety reasons, but the plans are very carefully tailored to the needs of the building, the design of the building, and the outdoor space versus the indoor space," she said.
The security increase comes months after a 16-year-old Henrico High School student was stabbed on the outdoor campus.
Henrico Schools recently added weapons to all county schools for the 2024-25 school year.
The county's budget allocates over $9.1 million for school security for the coming year.
Cashwell said that plans can evolve as circumstances change.
“What you may see in the budget is a part of what we do, but it’s a layered approach to safety, and we are not complacent. We do annual safety reviews at our school buildings as a school system, and we're always working to make sure that we’ve considered all angles of school safety," she said.
In addition to the security enhancements, the county is also hiring five new counselors to support the second year of its “CARES” initiative, aimed at improving mental health for students and staff.
This decision comes as more students report seeking services for anxiety, depression, and trauma.
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