Brockton School Committee members request National Guard aid to quell violence at the high school

“While we appreciate the suggestions put forth by four school committee members, we believe that such measures are not appropriate,” Sullivan said in the statement. “National Guard soldiers are not the answer. We have had school police working effectively and safely at the high school for decades.”

The School Committee consists of seven members, as well as the mayor, who serves as a voting chair, and Acting Superintendent James Cobbs, who does not have a vote. The other three School Committee members, the school superintendent, and the principal of the high school did not return messages seeking comment.

The committee members’ request was first reported by the Brockton Enterprise.

At a brief press conference late Monday morning, Rodrigues said the committee acts “as a whole body,” but the four members have taken a “leadership role” in making the request. He blamed the committee chair, the mayor, for not developing a plan to curb violence in the school.

“Our chair has failed to bring us together, united, so that we can come up with a concrete plan,” Rodrigues said. “We do need to take our schools back into control.”

The guard members, he said, could act as substitute teachers and hall monitors.

The committee members concluded the press conference after less than six minutes and left without taking questions from media.

Sullivan said in his statement that he forwarded the committee members’ request to the office of Governor Maura Healey, as only the governor has the power to enact the Guard.

Karissa Hand, a spokesperson for the Healey administration, said in a statement that the office is aware of the request and has been in touch with local officials. The administration is “committed to ensuring that schools are safe and supportive environments for students, educators and staff,” the statement said.

The mayor said he also met with Brockton police Chief Brenda Perez to discuss safety at the high school, and she is working “to address the underlying issues.” Perez will provide an update to the School Committee after the school’s vacation week, he said. Students return to class Feb. 26, according to the district’s online calendar.

Last week, several teachers at the high school, which has more than 3,500 students according to state statistics, told The Boston Globe they feared for their safety.

At an emotional committee meeting in late January, guidance counselor Martin Feroli said “Teachers and administration staff are sworn at, shoved, and met with a staggering level of disrespect that most people, I would hope, would not even show toward their worst enemy.”

Brockton city Councilor At Large Winthrop Farwell Jr. wrote in a Facebook post Saturday he does not support bringing the guard into the high school.

“Soldiers in military field uniforms aren’t the answer,” Farwell wrote.

Several parents and other family members who attended the Monday press conference said they share the committee members’ concerns about conditions at the school, but question the plan.

Cynthia Hodges, whose grown children attended the high school, said that while she is very worried about violence at Brockton High, calling in the National Guard is an overreaction that would cause students to drop out.

“This is not a military school,” Hodges said. “No kid wants to come to school when there’s National Guard telling them what to do.”

Speaking at the press conference, committee member Gomes argued that concerns over the impact of having uniformed guard members in the school were misguided.

“I know that the first thought that comes to mind when you hear ‘National Guard’ is uniform and arms, and that’s not the case. They’re people like us, they’re educated, they’re trained,” Gomes said.

Jodi Fain, a parent who just moved to the district from New Bedford, said deploying the National Guard to the high school is a good idea. Fain said her son is enrolling as a freshman at the school next week, and she is “kind of nervous.”

“These kids need structure,” she said. “That’s what this generation is lacking . . . There should definitely be more security.”

Eric Wright, whose son is a freshman at the school, said bringing in the National Guard is “worth a try,” as the school doesn’t have adequate staff to patrol the halls and monitor every entrance.

“There are fights every day,” Wright said. “It’s just a matter of time before it’s going to explode.”

Wright said he wouldn’t want the guardsmen to carry weapons, but having people in uniform at the school could help get the situation under control.

“It can’t hurt,” Wright said. “At least the presence might give staff some safety, make the kids feel a little bit safer, and maybe the ones who do want to start trouble will hesitate a little.”

But Ana Reyes, of Foxborough, the grandmother of a ninth-grade student, said after the press conference her grandson doesn’t believe the National Guard is the answer — even though he is afraid to go to school.

“He said they’re being too dramatic with the National Guard,” Reyes said.

Reyes said her grandson often sees fights, and sometimes will go the whole day without using the bathroom to avoid the drug use there. She’s suggested he move in with her so he can go to a different school.

“How can he learn in this environment?” Reyes asked in a frustrated tone.

Brockton city Councilor Shirley Asack said she fully supported the committee’s request and the National Guard’s presence would be a temporary measure. She said the school simply needs more bodies — wherever it can find them.

“We’re not talking about an army. I think we’d be happy with just 10, 20 bodies,” Asack said in a phone interview Monday. “They’re not going in there to do anything against the students.”

The presence of uniformed guards, Asack said, could also help address issues of disrespect for authority figures by troublesome students.

“Maybe they’ll look up to them,” she said. “I see our National Guard as role models.”

She said teachers begged for help at a committee meeting weeks ago. Asack, whose youngest child graduated from Brockton High two years ago, said the school is mostly full of respectful children, but a minority of students with disciplinary problems have had an outsized impact.

City Councilor Susan Nicastro also cited the late-January meeting as evidence that Brockton High needs a change but said the school’s administration and its new principal, Kevin McCaskill, “deserve the opportunity to address their issues, without bringing in someone from the outside.”

McCaskill was hired in late December and took over in January, having previously served as the assistant superintendent of secondary schools for the Boston Public Schools.

The councilor said Brockton High, like any high school, has always had students who question authority, and the city should focus on highlighting and bolstering its existing alternative schools and programs for such teenagers.

Nicastro said the four members’ letter was “inappropriate, and it’s also embarrassing.”

Daniel Kool can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @dekool01. Christopher Huffaker can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @huffakingit.