The Archdiocese of Miami is calling on the state of Florida to help finance security measures for its private schools, arguing that safety costs should not fall exclusively on parents.<\/p>\n
“We believe the state should help to offset the cost of safety and security,” said Jim Rigg, Superintendent of the Archdiocese of Miami<\/a>. Rigg emphasized that school security “is and has always been a top priority,” adding, “We take strong precautions to make sure our students and employees are safe”.<\/p>\n Currently, the price of security at all private schools is covered through parents’ tuition and donations. For example, Saint Teresa, one of the largest Catholic schools<\/a> in Miami, pays $250,000 for security measures.<\/p>\n The call for state funding is championed by Father Manny Alvarez, a priest at the Church of the Little Flower in Coral Gables, who described the effort as a personal mission.<\/p>\n “I was a priest in Parkland. I know kids are inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and for me, this is something that is personal,” Father Alvarez said. “Every single kid in that school is sacred, and I want to make sure that they get to go home to their parents at the end of the day”.<\/p>\n Father Alvarez hopes the legislature will fund security for all schools in the state, regardless of whether they are public, private, or religious.<\/p>\n Parents reacted positively to the proposal. Mercedes Prada, a parent, said, “If it’s included other schools in charter schools in public schools, it should be in private as well”.<\/p>\n Mercedes Falcon, a grandparent, agreed. “I think it’s wonderful if they do that instead of it coming out of our pockets. Everything else is coming out of our pockets; might as well the state do it too”.<\/p>\n The next step in the initiative involves urging parents to contact their state legislators, senators, and state representatives about the proposal.<\/p>\n