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Nashville approves $4.2 million in state funding for school officers
Metro Council accepted a $4.2 million Tennessee grant intended to add school resource officers, but the funding does not guarantee 56 hires. At the start of the 2026-27 school year, only nine of Metro’s 70 elementary schools had a full-time officer.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Metro Nashville Council has accepted a $4.2 million grant from the Tennessee Department of Homeland Security to fund additional school resource officers, as the district faces a shortage of officers in elementary schools.
The grant’s salary limit is $75,000 per officer. At that maximum, the funding could cover 56 positions if it were provided annually, but accepting the grant does not mean Metro will hire that many officers. Staffing has been a challenge, and the grant’s terms do not establish that the funding is annual.
At the beginning of the 2026-27 school year, the Metro Nashville Police Department said officer positions at middle and high schools were filled. Only nine of the district’s 70 elementary schools had a full-time SRO.
The grant could help expand officer coverage, but the number of positions ultimately filled will depend on available candidates and the funding’s duration and requirements. The council’s acceptance brings state money into the program; it does not by itself resolve the elementary-school staffing gap.