Montgomery County Council to consider school safety proposals

WASHINGTON — As the budget deadline comes closer, two issues facing the Montgomery County Council concern school children’s safety.

At one point, the county had 32 school resource officers in the middle and high schools. At another point, the officer program was nearly gutted. Now, there are proposals to put more cops in schools.

County Executive Isiah Leggett proposes adding two new police officers in schools. A council committee on public safety recommends adding eight more.

Another school safety measure involves the use of cameras that target drivers passing school buses.

The Montgomery County Police say that more than 270 citations have been handed out since cameras were put on county school buses in order to catch drivers who go past the buses while they’re loading and unloading students.

The council will hold hearings on a plan to install another 75.

The council plans to vote on the budget for the next fiscal year by the end of next month.

WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.

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