Mayor Scott has been working on Operation School Shield and the time has come for it to move forward.
For the past 5 years, Mayor Scott was able to assist in Active Shooter Training at local schools, one of which was South Iron School. During this training, the instructor told the attendees that it could be 25 minutes or longer before help arrives. When Mayor Scott realized this he wanted to see what could be done to protect our students at the South Iron School. This was not only a concern of Scott but many others in the community as well.
The South Iron School District and the Annapolis City Council have approved Operation School Shield. Very soon the City of Annapolis will have Annapolis Police Chief, Ben Starnes working from 7:15 AM to 3:15 PM Monday through Friday. The purpose of doing this is to protect our children, our faculty and staff and our community during school hours. Provide the school with an officer the students and staff can trust and rely on. Provide a secure and comfortable environment so teachers and students can focus 100% on the education process. Ben Starnes has also agreed to be at school Events. We are here to make this program succeed and want to work with the school any way we can. In addition, we will have additional officers working weekends and nights when Ben is off duty.
Police Chief, Ben Starnes will also be filling the needs of the city while he is on duty. Ben will still respond to any emergency in the City of Annapolis.
This was all possible because of funding from the following sources working together. City of Annapolis, South Iron School District, SGI and Peoples Community Bank.
Mayor Scott personally wants to thank Superintendent, Don Wakefield, South Iron School Board Members, Annapolis City Council, and Ben Starnes. Without their support, this would not be possible.
Thank You,
Mayor Scott Oatman