PHOENIX (AZFamily) — More Arizona schools will be getting school resource officers, or SROs, this year.

These officers will be armed and in uniform to prevent violence on campuses. Many of them are off-duty police officers.

Arizona education superintendent Tom Horne stressed the need for better campus security after Wednesday’s school shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia .

The head of education in the state said SROs are the first line of defense in a school shooting, and just having one on campus can protect students and staff. But some residents said they think the funds would be better spent on counselors to prevent the violence before it happens.

“We didn’t say no to anybody because my nightmare is that some maniac would go into a school and kill 20 kids,” Horne said.

Horne is expanding the school resource officer program. The announcement came just one day after a 14-year-old shot and killed two teachers and two students at a Georgia high school, with the suspect surrendering to two SROs. Without them, Horne believes that shooting could have been worse.

“It saved a lot of lives,” he said.

The Arizona expansion means armed, uniformed and trained police officers will be at 60 districts or charter schools in Maricopa County. Throughout the state, six counties will now have schools with law enforcement on campus.

“There are 228 SSOs that are full-time, then we have what are called school safety officers that are part-time,” Horne said.

Horne said this was possible thanks to a partnership with “Off Duty Management,” a company pairing off-duty officers with additional assignments and making more money.

But the expansion doesn’t come without frustration.

“SROs are just there to enforce something and give punishment. They are not there to actually resolve conflicts,” said Melina Arellano, an organizer for Puente Youth , a group in Phoenix helping undocumented children.

“It’s concerning how mental health is not being taken seriously with these students,” Arellano added. “As we saw yesterday with the shooting, right? It could have been prevented if they had had someone to talk to.”

As for Arellano, her main concern with SROs is that students could be targeted for the color of their skin.

Arizona’s Family reached back out to Horne to get a comment on her claim and have not yet heard back.

Horne said right now, there are 700 trained officers, and all schools requesting an SRO should get one.

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