Special to the Chronicle

South Carolinians want uniformed officers in schools and are willing to pay for them.

That’s one finding of the most recent Winthrop Poll.

In the wake of an arrest for threats at Lexington Middle School, about 80% of residents want an armed resource officer in every public school, and nearly 70% say they would pay higher taxes for them, The State newspaper reported.

The poll, with four questions asked for the newspaper, found a majority of S.C. residents want tighter gun control laws — including raising the minimum age to buy an AR-15 and requiring completed background checks before

sales

Republican lawmakers say they are skeptical of the gun control findings.

They say polls oversimplify complex issues and don’t mirror what they hear from their constituents.

Gov. Henry McMaster has asked for $5 million next year to hire more school resource officers, but lawmakers have not come up with the money.

“The legislature has to determine that it’s a priority and ... figure out a way to fund it,” said Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, who represents Lexington County.

“To me, school safety is a priority.”

Lexington County school resource officers are assigned by police agencies and the school districts, paid for by local taxpayers.

That means poor districts often can’t afford resource officers, The State said.

About half the state’s 1,200 schools have no resource officers. The newspaper said it would cost up to $60 million to put an officer in every school.

Lawmakers agree every school should have a resource officer but how to pay for them is unclear.

Lawmakers and Gov. McMaster oppose raising taxes and say the money should come from the state’s $8.2 billion general fund.

The Winthrop Poll found that 69% of S.C. residents including 74% of gun owners support a tax increase to hire resource officers