LITTLE ROCK—The state’s largest school district is placing defibrillators at each of its 47 campuses. The Little Rock School District announced today it plans to place 82 of the devices, at least one at each school, depending on student population.
Tiffany Hoffman, spokeswoman for the 25,000-student district, said
the defibrillators were purchase recently for $114,000 and more than
275 LRSD staff members have been trained in how to use them — a minimum
of three and up to 12 staff members on each campus.
Last year, the Legislature approved a bill to put defibrillators in
every public school in the state, funded by $1 million from proceeds of
a tobacco tax hike.
However, the funding was eliminated when Gov. Mike Beebe reduced the current fiscal year’s budget by $100 million in the fall.
The legislation was called the Antony Hobbs III Act in honor of a
Little Rock Parkview basketball player who collapsed and died during a
game in 2008.
SOURCE: Arkansas News Bureau