Campaign Priorities

Safe Schools-  Priority # 1

Since the shocking Columbine High School shooting in Colorado in 1999, school shootings have become far more common, increasing at a rate we had not seen prior to that tragedy. Before Columbine, school shootings were rarely discussed. At the time, it was the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.

The perpetrators were both twelfth-grade students who had full access to the school and intimate knowledge of the building. The attack involved both gunfire and attempted bombings, resulting in the murder of 13 students and 1 teacher. An additional 20 people were injured by gunfire, and three more were injured while attempting to escape.

The timeline linked here provides a visual record of school shootings that occurred between 1999 and 2023. It paints a disturbing picture of the reality we now face, showing a total of 351 shooting victims during that period alone.

Since those statistics were compiled, additional deaths and injuries occurred in 2024 and 2025, further increasing these already alarming numbers. In August 2025, a new record was set for the number of fatalities in a single school shooting, with 32 killed and 23 injured at the Virginia Tech massacre.

We must learn from the security failures of other schools. Today, children and staff members in many schools are effectively sitting ducks, often with little to no meaningful protection. I will spearhead and advocate for the implementation of the most comprehensive safety and security program this area has seen. We must take a proactive approach to school safety rather than relying on the dangerous assumption of “It won’t happen here.” By taking decisive and necessary action, we can save lives.

After being told that additional school security is “not in the budget,” my resolve to fight for our children and staff has only strengthened. This year, the district removed already limited resources from the School Resource Officer (SRO) program by reassigning one SRO to an administrative role outside of the program. The Farmington School District has nine campuses serving nearly 4,000 students and currently 1 School Resource Officer. By comparison, the small town of Fredericktown, with approximately 1,800 students, has four School Resource Officers—one assigned to each school. Additionally, Fredericktown’s campuses are located much closer together, allowing for faster support between schools if needed.

A multi-faceted experienced and trained security professional who specializes in school safety and security must be vetted and hired to guide the district forward following the departure of the current safety director at the end of the 2026–2027 school year. Ideally, this critical hire should be made during the 2026–2027 school year to allow for a proper transition. This is an opportune moment for a change in leadership and direction. A Director of School Safety must be more than a title—it requires legal expertise, credentialed training, real-world experience, education, leadership experience, and the moral courage to put student and staff safety first. This role demands proactive leadership, not reactive policies. We cannot continue with the status quo.  This is the most important job in the school district.

If you elect Kyle S. Short, I will not remain silent on this issue, and I hope you will join me in this fight to put safety ahead of political appointments and long-standing habits that have failed to protect our schools. The lives entrusted to us deserve the strongest preventative measures we can provide.

VOTE Kyle S. Short