The Alexandria City Council voted to temporarily reinstate school resource officers after teacher and parent outcry over a spate of violent fights at the public schools, which some have blamed on the council voting to do away with the officers last spring.
The Alexandria City Council decided in May - following a year of national protests calling for police departments be defunded - to remove the school resource officers, and reallocate $800,000 in funding to hire mental health counselors.
Repeated videos soon surfaced of students brawling and fighting on various school campuses, which parents and teachers said is due to lack of SROs on campuses. A shooting even occurred just a few blocks from Alexandria High School and injured a student in September, and a student was arrested last week for allegedly bringing a gun to school.