US Education

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said Monday that calling in the National Guard is “not appropriate” to help Brockton High School address and manage its safety concerns. Last week, four members of the Brockton School Committee asked for support from the Massachusetts National Guard at the high school.According to a letter, School Committee members Joyce Asack, Claudio Gomes, Ana Oliver and Tony Rodrigues asked Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan if he could contact Gov. Maura Healey and request the deployment of the National Guard to help restore order at Brockton High School and “prevent a potential tragedy.”They said violence and substance abuse have become a serious issue, and the situation has gotten so bad that 35 teachers missed school recently.Many families, however, are concerned the request is “over the top.””I don’t think the National Guard is appropriate,” Healey said Monday, adding, “I do understand, though, the concerns raised by the school committee and others in the community.””My administration has given a grant to Brockton to use to audit its current safety condition,” Healey said. “We want to make sure, and as governor, I want to make sure that every student and educator in the state, including in Brockton, is safe and is able to go to school and learn in a safe environment.”Dozens of community members held a “standout” Monday outside the school to support students and staff. They held signs that read “We Believe in BHS” and “Real Change Not Pocket Change.”Sullivan, who is also the chair of the school committee, said he does not support adding National Guard members to the high school.Any student that thinks they’re going to see a National Guard, that’s walking up and down the hallway, they are not going to want to come to school, student Cynthia Hodges said.Honestly, I’m for whatever helps BHS, and if that’s the National Guard temporarily, then I’m for it, parent Victoria Giesta said.Sullivan said the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is going to fund a school safety audit on Brockton High School. He stresses that what Brockton needs is collaboration at the local and state level.I’ll tell ya, I was getting calls from people in California, and I respectfully disagree. I don’t think the National Guard here on the grounds of Brockton High is the appropriate endeavor, Sullivan said.Manuel Lopes, who graduated from Brockton High School 11 years ago, came to show his support. A lot of negativity, and that’s something that always somehow gets focused on in Brockton is always negativity, but there’s a lot positive that goes around. You see it here. Everybody is united. You got the melting pot of America here, Lopes said.