Knox County TN July 23 2013 Seven new school security officers will not be considered full time until they graduate from a five-week training academy.
“Just being allowed to attend the training does not guarantee them the opportunity to become full time school security officers,” said Gus Paidousis, Knox County Schools’ security chief.
“Because there were still some tests that they had to pass, some screening tools that they had to get through and then there are challenges in the recruit school that if they fail to meet ... they will be let go.”
This week the officers concluded their third week of training, which included drug recognition, verbal conflict management, crime scene preservation and defense tactics. Later this month they will get firearms training and field training experience.
The school system will hold a graduation ceremony for the officers on Aug. 2.
Knox County Schools has 45 school security officers who are stationed at each of the middle and high schools and several of the elementary schools. Officers from Knoxville Police Department and Knox County Sheriff’s Office are also in the schools.
As part of its increases security strategies, the school system plans to add 58 armed officers to its ranks.
The additional positions — $1.9 million has been approved in the next year’s budget for them — would put at least one armed officer in each of the district’s 88 schools.
The starting salary for the jobs is $17,312, but school officials have said they are looking at possibly increasing that amount if the budget allows.
Paidousis said they school system initially hired 61 people to go through the training, which began on July 1, but at least 13 people failed at least one requirement to stay on. On the first day of training they started with 58 people, he said.
“We had some people who started the training and as a result of these pre-screening employment tools ... we had some issues so we had to at that point dismiss some people from the training,” he said.
Paidousis wouldn’t elaborate on specifics on what knocked out those officers, but said some of the areas were problems arose included people’s background checks, the field background check and the criminal history check.
He said the school system took extra steps to make sure they hired good people, but sometimes the process trips some people up.
“Sometimes we thought we had a really good candidate and we did some checking and they ultimately turned out to have an issue in their background that we couldn’t overcome,” he said.
“We just felt like whenever it came to our attention, we felt obligated to try to make a good decision to do the right thing and be sure we never compromise anybody’s character because of the number mission, if you will.”
The school system has hired a few people since the training began, bringing them back up to 47 officers, he said..
At least one of the people initially hired by the school system for one of the school security jobs is asking questions about the process.
Denny Wren, a retired paramedic/firefighter who was initially hired for one of the school security officer spots, was let go on the second day of training. He said initially he wasn’t told why he was released, but later found out he didn’t pass a psychological evaluation that was given.
Wren said he’s not mad that he wasn’t chosen, but about the way he was let go — he was allowed to start training and then released.
“When you tell someone that they’re hired, do you actually start them working before you have their background done? No employer in the world does that,” he said.
Wren said he believes the school system is fast tracking the process.
“They got the approval. They had to hire the people. They had to get the five weeks of training in. They had to do all the background tests and do all this before school started,” he said.
“To do that to that many people, some of them quit their jobs, it’s wrong.”
But Paidousis said no hiring process is perfect and a longer time hiring the officers wouldn’t have guaranteed the process would have been flawless.
“If you go to hire 58 people, whether you have two months to hire them or two years, you’re going to make mostly good decisions and then there’s always that potential for that one or two decisions you rethink and in hindsight you say that’s a bad decision,” he said.
Paidousis said he imagines the school system will begin working to fill the remaining spots in the next few weeks.
The application process is still open, he said, and “we have encouraged people to apply.”
Source-knoxnews.com
“Just being allowed to attend the training does not guarantee them the opportunity to become full time school security officers,” said Gus Paidousis, Knox County Schools’ security chief.
“Because there were still some tests that they had to pass, some screening tools that they had to get through and then there are challenges in the recruit school that if they fail to meet ... they will be let go.”
This week the officers concluded their third week of training, which included drug recognition, verbal conflict management, crime scene preservation and defense tactics. Later this month they will get firearms training and field training experience.
The school system will hold a graduation ceremony for the officers on Aug. 2.
Knox County Schools has 45 school security officers who are stationed at each of the middle and high schools and several of the elementary schools. Officers from Knoxville Police Department and Knox County Sheriff’s Office are also in the schools.
As part of its increases security strategies, the school system plans to add 58 armed officers to its ranks.
The additional positions — $1.9 million has been approved in the next year’s budget for them — would put at least one armed officer in each of the district’s 88 schools.
The starting salary for the jobs is $17,312, but school officials have said they are looking at possibly increasing that amount if the budget allows.
Paidousis said they school system initially hired 61 people to go through the training, which began on July 1, but at least 13 people failed at least one requirement to stay on. On the first day of training they started with 58 people, he said.
“We had some people who started the training and as a result of these pre-screening employment tools ... we had some issues so we had to at that point dismiss some people from the training,” he said.
Paidousis wouldn’t elaborate on specifics on what knocked out those officers, but said some of the areas were problems arose included people’s background checks, the field background check and the criminal history check.
He said the school system took extra steps to make sure they hired good people, but sometimes the process trips some people up.
“Sometimes we thought we had a really good candidate and we did some checking and they ultimately turned out to have an issue in their background that we couldn’t overcome,” he said.
“We just felt like whenever it came to our attention, we felt obligated to try to make a good decision to do the right thing and be sure we never compromise anybody’s character because of the number mission, if you will.”
The school system has hired a few people since the training began, bringing them back up to 47 officers, he said..
At least one of the people initially hired by the school system for one of the school security jobs is asking questions about the process.
Denny Wren, a retired paramedic/firefighter who was initially hired for one of the school security officer spots, was let go on the second day of training. He said initially he wasn’t told why he was released, but later found out he didn’t pass a psychological evaluation that was given.
Wren said he’s not mad that he wasn’t chosen, but about the way he was let go — he was allowed to start training and then released.
“When you tell someone that they’re hired, do you actually start them working before you have their background done? No employer in the world does that,” he said.
Wren said he believes the school system is fast tracking the process.
“They got the approval. They had to hire the people. They had to get the five weeks of training in. They had to do all the background tests and do all this before school started,” he said.
“To do that to that many people, some of them quit their jobs, it’s wrong.”
But Paidousis said no hiring process is perfect and a longer time hiring the officers wouldn’t have guaranteed the process would have been flawless.
“If you go to hire 58 people, whether you have two months to hire them or two years, you’re going to make mostly good decisions and then there’s always that potential for that one or two decisions you rethink and in hindsight you say that’s a bad decision,” he said.
Paidousis said he imagines the school system will begin working to fill the remaining spots in the next few weeks.
The application process is still open, he said, and “we have encouraged people to apply.”
Source-knoxnews.com