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D.C. Teachers Work Double Duty After Security Contract Canceled
posted 10/02/09 5:37 pm
NewsChannel 8 - D.C. Teachers Work Double Duty After Security Contract Canceled
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WASHINGTON - There's been a major shake-up inside D.C. schools. Some teachers say they're doing double duty -- both instructing and working security.

Teachers in D.C. schools got the word Friday morning that for the time being, they are working security.

At Cardozo High School, the man handling security did not have on a uniform. Sources say some 300 guards didn't come to work Friday. "The principal called us in and told all of us that we would be working security during our planning periods," said Sara Otto, an Anacostia High School teacher.

Hawk One, the troubled security company, informed its guards Thursday night that they were out of work as of Friday.

"Hawk One didn't say it is over. Quite frankly, the D.C. government literally forced Hawk One into this position because of its lack of timely payment over several months," said A. Scott Bolden, attorney for Hawk One.

Officers with the Metropolitan Police Department (web | news) apparently will help fill the void until new security companies are on the job.

"In some districts, they are drafting officers out of the streets. In other districts, they are grabbing them from behind desks," said Kristopher Baumann of the Fraternal Order of Police.

Some parents worry about the safety of their children. "You got the gangs, the neighborhood fights or whatever and when you bring all of that together under one entity, nobody feels safe," said Marvin Tucker, a parent.

Meanwhile, former Hawk One guard Michelle Amos spent the day looking for work and worrying about her future.

"I do not know what I am going to do. I do not know. I have three kids, I have rent to pay -- I have nothing," she said.

Hawk One's attorney says it's likely the company will fold now that it has lost its biggest contract. Meanwhile, the police department has signed contracts with two new security companies but it's not known when they will be on the job.

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