Could the National Guard be used in a creative way to provide ongoing security at public schools?

CDR (Join to see) you could legally do that, but who will front the costs? Will the perception be worth it as some may see it as marshal law and the military instead of the ARNG doing state mission.

Unfortunately, it all comes down the money Sir.

I have little doubt there's more than adequate willing volunteers from the Guard, Reserves, etc...but to make it "work", you'd have to essentially activate all these people for a long enough period of time to not only use them, but train them. Could be 24 to 36 month orders. Can the money be "found"?...certainly. Will state and federal legislatures find it? Probably not.

Then, there's the issue of critical manning. Reservists and Guardsmen with civilian LE experience or MOSs containing those competencies may or may not come in sufficient numbers. Even if they did, the training for this application would by necessity, require different skill sets. You start "recruiting" for this position, and there will be impacts on the already strained career management and retirement system.

Lastly, there's the question of infrastructure. A couple of skilled guys in battle rattle can handle most situations...but not if they don't have the monitoring and security systems in place to identify, interdict and manage threats. As I heard it, two SROs were present during the shooting in Florida...if true, the shooter somehow got in, wreaked havoc, and tried to make an escape...all within six minutes. These preventative systems also cost money...money that is hard to come by.

I'm normally not an advocate for "more government oversight", but in this case, it may take exactly that. If legislators would make funding a priority and find the money...a practical solution could be implemented. It would take a public willing to turn schools into veritable fortresses, complete with check points, armed presence, strict protocols for access and egress, etc. It would fundamentally change how we look at our security and require educators, administrators, lawmakers and the public at large to rapidly adopt a new mindset.

I believe the "long view" on this problem should include targeting the factors that create "monsters"...but in the immediate, it is going to take policy makers on both sides of the "aisle" to stop squabbling about rhetoric and implausible measures...and start looking for the wasted or misused funds that could make it a reality.

Well as a matter of history the Guard did such a mission in the wake of 9-11. I got called up in 2001 and spent 9 months at the MRY airport. I don't know if we accomplished anything other than deterrence. However Operation AEROSAFE as it was called was massively expensive. We had guardsmen at the Golden Gate Bridge until 2003 on full per diem and BAH. I think local law enforcement school resource officer funding is a much better option.