While Brockton High School has been on February break, the debate on whether to deploy the National Guard to combat “disturbing” trends in student behavior has reached the national limelight.
School Committee member Tony Rodrigues appeared on Wednesday’s edition of Fox Business’ The Bottom Line with co-hosts Dagen McDowell and Sean Duffy, highlighting the “chaotic” scenes playing out at Massachusetts’ largest high school.
“Shocking levels of chaos and violence at a high school in Massachusetts. Students at one high school are so out of control, educators aren’t just calling the police, they’re calling in the National Guard,” McDowell said at the start of the segment.
Gov. Maura Healey has not decided whether to deploy the National Guard to Brockton High School to address what Rodrigues and three other committee members say is a “disturbing increase in incidents related to violence, security concerns, and substance abuse.”
Only the governor has the authority to deploy the National Guard in times of emergency, whether they be natural or human-made disasters.
“It is chaotic when we have students, they’re basically in the school thinking that it’s a playground,” Rodrigues told McDowell and Duffy. “A lack of discipline. It starts at home.”
Rodrigues highlighted how he believes the district’s massive budget deficit has played a large role in setting the stage for the disruptive scene at the high school. The deficit at the beginning of the year was roughly $14 million, but it has ballooned up to at least $18.25 million, according to the Brockton Enterprise.
At least 20 to 25 teachers are calling out of work a day on average, leading to 800 students roaming around the halls unsupervised, Rodrigues said.
“We have to have the bodies inside the school,” he said. “Right now what you do is when you have a lot of educators not in the building, these kids are free to roam. And what do you think these teenagers are going to do? It’s free for all.”
“Right now the quickest and safest way is to get the National Guard,” he added. “There’s a census of the military coming into the school. We’re not trying to militarize our school. It is to make sure it’s safe.”
Mayor Robert Sullivan, in statements to reporters, has said he opposes the measure because he believes it’s “not appropriate” and that the district should continue relying on city police.
“I’m a parent, you send your kids to school and it’s supposed to be a safe place,” Duffy told Rodrigues. “But it appears that in this school whether it’s the brawls, the stabbings, the sex, the drugs, all things that most parents try to keep their kids away from, they’re actually getting at the school system.”