TAMPA, Fla. — Donald Beach is about to go back to school.
After a career in the military and years as a coach, he is now part of the latest group of Guardian armed security guards who will patrol elementary schools in Hillsborough County.
"For me to be on campus with the young people. I'll be with the elementary kids just to be that face that knows when they come on campus, Officer Beach is here, it's going to be ok,” said Beach.
Beach will start his new job at a time when schools in our area are facing more threats than ever before.
The Hillsborough County School District said it's had 181 unfounded threats since Sept. 4, the day of the deadly school shooting outside Atlanta.
"It's sad, actually. It's a way for people to get attention, it's a way for them to get likes, to get notoriety, and things like that. But it's serious business,” he said.
Threats, even those intended as a joke, can often carry felony charges. There have already been nine students arrested in Hillsborough this school year. The threats continue despite constant warnings.
Officials said they've had six threats since Thursday night, including one that led to a controlled lockdown at Newsome High School on Friday.
"That's why we are here. The message isn't getting through. They are not understanding what the consequences are. And they are severe,” said Hillsborough County Superintendent Van Ayres.
School officials said false threats waste time and effort, add stress to those at the school, and take away resources that could be used to deal with actual threats.
"If you are making a false threat there's a lot of human capital and currency behind that. A lot of effort. And we find out that it's bogus it's very very frustrating,” said John Newman, Chief of Emergency Management for Hillsborough schools.
A majority of the threats are coming through the ForitfyFL app that is intended to be a tool to report suspicious activity.
The district said that state-wide there have been five times as many threats on the app as this time last year.
Investigative Reporter Katie LaGrone obtained the most recent batch of Florida teacher exit interviews which detail, in their own words, why teachers left the classroom this summer.
