While there’s a debate over whether to arm teachers to increase school safety, one Kentucky school district decided to buck the liberal anti-gun narrative and approve teachers with CCWs to carry on campus. The Pike County school district voted to approve the preliminary measure on Monday night. The school administration will work with the local sheriff’s office. The superintendent said he is willing to take the criticism if it means protecting his students (via Lexington Herald Leader):
Teachers could soon be carrying concealed guns inside schools in Pike County under a proposal that was preliminarily approved Monday evening by the Pike County School Board.
The unanimous decision came after the board heard concerns about school safety from teachers, parents and administrators during a town hall meeting at Pike County Central High School. The discussion was prompted by multiple school shootings in recent weeks, including one at Marshall County High School in Western Kentucky that left two dead and another in Florida that left 17 dead.
The motion authorizes the school board’s attorney to work with the Pike County Sheriff’s Office, which would oversee the program, to finalize a formal policy for the school board to consider.
Pike County Schools Superintendent Reed Adkins said he hopes the board will give final approval within two to three weeks, and to have armed staff in schools by fall, if not sooner.
“You hope you’re making the right decision for kids, but I know right now something’s got to be done,” Adkins said. “We may be criticized, but at the end of the day I’ll take criticism to protect my students.”
This renewed push to arm teachers was sparked by the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida, where Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people were shot and killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14. There’s also another debate over increased school security that includes more resource officers and possibly hiring former military veterans as armed security.