Preferential Protection: Baltimore’s Double Standard on School Security

Once again, Chris Papst and the Project Baltimore team at Fox45 News have pulled back the curtain on hypocrisy inside Baltimore City Public Schools. Their latest investigation exposes a troubling double standard: while students attend class in a city plagued by violence, the school system’s CEO enjoys armed protection when she tours schools.

Disarmed for Students, Armed for the Boss

Under Maryland law, Baltimore City Schools Police officers assigned to schools are required to disarm during instructional hours. Their firearms are locked away while students sit in classrooms, leaving children and teachers without armed security in a city where shootings near schools are all too common.

But when City Schools CEO Sonja Santelises visited several campuses on the first day of school this year, she arrived flanked by armed officers. The district insists this was justified because her tours are “public events.” Once the CEO left, the officers—and their weapons—left too.

That means during the school day, the CEO gets protection students can’t have.

Parents See Hypocrisy

Parents like Blanca Tapahuasco are outraged. She called it exactly what it is: “preferential protection.” Why, she asked, is leadership considered worthy of armed security, while children are left vulnerable?

This isn’t just about optics. Baltimore’s schools are no strangers to violence. In 2023, students were shot outside Carver Vocational Technical High School. Violence in and around schools is not a hypothetical—it’s reality.

Police Union Warnings

The Fraternal Order of Police has warned for years that the disarming mandate is dangerous and discourages recruitment. Sgt. Clyde Boatwright put it bluntly: expecting unarmed officers to confront an armed threat is “unrealistic.”

Yet every attempt to pass legislation in Annapolis allowing school police to carry during school hours has failed—blocked by lawmakers who argue it sends “the wrong message” to students.

Wrong Message, Wrong Priorities

Here’s the real wrong message: our leaders value their own safety more than the safety of children. Santelises’ escort of armed police isn’t just a security detail—it’s a symbol of a broken system that puts bureaucracy first and students last.

Baltimore spends $1.7 billion annually on its public schools, yet only 10% of students are proficient in math. Violence plagues campuses, classrooms underperform, and families are fleeing the system. But when it comes to security, the people at the top get protection that’s denied to students.

The Bottom Line

Thanks to Chris Papst and Project Baltimore, parents can see the ugly truth: safety in Baltimore schools is not about students, it’s about optics.

If armed officers are safe and necessary for the CEO, they are safe and necessary for children. Anything less is indefensible.