HERE IS DON WARD'S FULL STATEMENT:
Schools, school safety and security is an issue facing all of Henderson County - the School Board, the Sheriff’s office and the County Commissioners. All are responsible for keeping our children safe in our schools.
Since 2012, Henderson County has seen plans and several possible locations for a law enforcement training center proposed by our Sheriff. The cost estimate being 20 to 26 million dollars with the 20 million dollar proposal actually approved by our current board of commissioners. The focus has now shifted to a revised facility in a yet to be announced location, at a timely and significantly lower cost of approximately 6 million dollars. Not lost in these staggering amounts of tax dollar expenditures is the totally wasted $335,000.00 spent on architectural plans for the now defunct proposed law enforcement center at Blue Ridge Community College.
I am in opposition to any current proposal for a new training center in Henderson County at this time, at any cost. It is unnecessary as adequate facilities in both county and state are already available. Training is always imperative; however, law enforcement has access to the North Carolina Justice Center locally as well as access to other state training facilities. The use of training resources readily available prevents duplication of services while making it possible to spent tax dollars more wisely on schools, school safety and security. School Resource Officers must be in every school with Social Workers desperately needed as well. It is also crucial that recommendations of each newly formed School Safety Committee be met. These are necessities that our children and our schools deserve.
My priority is school safety and security for our children with peace of mind for our
parents. As a Commissioner, I could not justify a 6 million dollar plus tax expense on currently unnecessary training facilities. There are more immediate needs to insure safety and security in our schools that must be met; needs that can be addressed in a shorter time frame with more significant impact. The greatest challenge we have is to protect our children and give them a safe environment in which to learn and thrive. This is my commitment to the children and parents of Henderson County.
