JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Following Tuesday’s school shooting in Texas that killed 19 children and two teachers, News4JAX spoke with Jacksonville’s mayor and sheriff about safety in schools.
I asked Mayor Lenny Curry on Thursday if he thinks it’s safe here.
“First of all, we are not reacting to a specific situation. Our schools, they began hardening them years ago. When I visited my kids at school at times, I see entry points you have to go through, you have to show identification -- you can’t just walk into our schools in Jacksonville,” Curry said. “My previous budgets have also included funding for security, resource offices, etc. I’ve spoken to the superintendent over the last couple of days and expect -- I can’t get any specifics right now -- but expect in my next budget for there to be additional funding, which will include additional hardening of our school.”
Sheriff Mike Williams basically said the same -- that he is still working with schools. But I also asked about the Jacksonville Jazz Festival this weekend and any worries people might have about safety downtown.
“Listen, I think Jacksonville is a safe city. We have our challenges like every city does, for sure. But a weekend like this, it should be exciting,” Williams said. “You got a lot of great events going on downtown, a lot of people downtown. We have a lot of officers downtown to make sure these big events are safe.”
News4JAX could see that already with the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition scheduled for Thursday night to kick off this weekend’s festival.