State Representative Matt Gress (R-Scottsdale) joined the new School Safety Task Force recently established by the Arizona Department of Education.
This follows Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne inviting Gress (pictured above) to join the task force, which evaluates funding gaps and statutory limitations as well as makes recommendations to build upon the integrity of the Arizona Department of Education’s school safety program.
The School Safety Task Force comprises a group of key stakeholders from law enforcement, school administration, teachers, counselors, and social workers.
As a former school teacher and school board member Gress said he has a particular interest in improving Arizona school safety adding that it is an honor that Horne selected him to serve as a member of the School Safety Task Force.
“I’m honored that Superintendent Horne has selected me to serve as a member of the Arizona Department of Education’s School Safety Task Force,” Gress said.
According to Gress, the safety of Arizona schools is a top concern of the constituents he serves in Scottsdale (Legislative District 4).
“Safeguarding our schools continues to be a top concern for parents in Legislative District 4 and there is strong interest in the community to be doing more. As parents send their children to school, they have every right to expect they will come home safely,” Gress said.
Gress said that with his former experience as an educator, he is particularly interested in being part of the school safety conversation in Arizona by helping identify how public schools can use available one-time funding to improve the capital facilities on campus to improve school safety, focusing attention on law enforcement response times to schools, and bolstering school resource officer programs.
“With experience as a former school teacher and school board member, I look forward to this opportunity to productively contribute to this very important conversation,” Gress said.
The Arizona Sun Times reached out to Gress for additional comment but did not receive a reply before press time.
The School Safety Task Force was brought together in October 2019 after lawmakers sponsored a bill in the state legislature to establish a task force within the Arizona Department of Education. Despite the efforts of students involved with the Arizona chapter of March for Our Lives to pass House Bill 2597 in the 2019 legislature, the bill failed to pass.
However, the lack of legislative action did not put to rest the students’ drive for school safety. Instead, Kathy Hoffman, the superintendent of public instruction at the time, teamed with March for Our Lives to establish the first-ever statewide School Safety Task Force, a multidisciplinary team assembled to re-frame school safety as a multifaceted approach to safety, health, and violence.
– – –
Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star, The Star News Network, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
