NEW MEXICO STATE SENATOR GEORGE MUÑOZ
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bill to Help Prevent Future School Shootings in NM Passes Education Committee
(Santa Fe, NM) – Legislation to make the state’s public schools safer by funding protective security measures to prevent shootings and armed attacks on students today was passed by the Senate Education Committee. SB 239, School Capital Outlay for Security, is sponsored by Senator George Muñoz (D-4- Cibola, McKinley and San Juan). It replaces the previous SB 124, and now would appropriate up to $40 million for a wide array of protective steps to improve school safety, including card-swipe door systems, security cameras, and metal detectors on school premises. Supporters said implementing the security measures would help to prevent school shooting incidents from happening in the future.
“We have an enormous need in the state to upgrade the security of all our schools. We have older architecture in many of our buildings, which makes it even more challenging. This is an area that desperately needs to be addressed, because the ultimate goal is to make sure we protect every single child, and that they are going home at night to their parents,” said Tommy Turner, Superintendent of Mosquero Municipal Schools. He testified in support of SB 239.
As of January 24, there have been 11 school shootings in the U.S. so far in 2018. Since 2013, 277 school shootings have occurred, including two incidents in New Mexico. In 2014, a12-year-old boy shot and injured two students at Berrendo Middle School in Roswell. In December 2017, a 21-year-old male opened fire at Aztec High School, killing two students before fatally shooting himself.
“We all know by now that our children need protection when they leave the house to go to school. It is critical that we give New Mexico’s school administrators the authority and the funding to put real safety measures in place now to protect our kids from shootings and armed attacks. They have become all too common,” said Senator Muñoz, a sponsor of the legislation.
“We all hope we will never see the day when a shooter invades another school in New Mexico and opens fire on students. But if that does happen, our schools must be prepared. We cannot take school safety for granted any longer,” added Muñoz.
The bill now goes to the Senate Finance Committee for consideration.
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