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BARLOW - An informal, streetside survey of people with an interest in public education suggests support for the pending move by Warren Local Schools to allow teachers to carry concealed weapons in school buildings, starting in the fall.
Warren superintendent Kyle Newton told the board at its April meeting that implementing the process - in which teachers who volunteered would receive intensive training - does not require a policy change, but will need a resolution, which he intends to prepare for a vote at the May 20 meeting.
Mel Samples, a local resident looking through his mail Wednesday while parked at the Barlow Post Office on Ohio 339, almost in the shadow of the Warren Elementary School building project, said he thinks arming teachers, provided with thorough training and a well-designed policy, is a good move.
“I think they ought to have weapons,” said Samples, 79. “I don’t like the shooting-gallery idea, where there are lots of people but you can’t carry a gun. The people who do this sort of thing, they don’t care about the law.”
Wayne Berry, 55, was stopping at the Subway across the highway from the school. Berry, who said he lives in Marietta but has an interest in all the county schools, said he supports the idea.
“I don’t have a problem with it. The teachers, they can be trusted with this,” he said.
Kendall Ullman, 18, lives just up Ohio 339 from the center of Barlow. Fueling up her car at the Par-Mar station, she said she attended Warren High School until transferring to the Washington County Career Center, where she graduated last year.
“The people at Warren are nice people, it’s just messed up that we even have to do this,” she said. “I would trust the teachers there. With all those glass hallways, and someone could easily get into the buildings. We had an incident once when I was there, but it involved a knife, not a gun.”
Ron Duvall’s job with Exit Realty takes him all over the region. Sitting in the parking lot of the White Oak Pharmacy on his way to McConnelsville, Duvall, who is 80, said arming teachers is a good idea.
“It’s a very positive move. Why leave the schools undefended? With properly trained people and notices posted, you’re ready and armed. It’s a big deterrent,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense not to do this.”
Two career center students from Warren have first-hand experience of being caught in a public place during a shooting.
Also at Subway on Ohio 339 Wednesday, Dakota Morris said he’s all for the concept of arming teachers. He and Jordan Males, both juniors at the center studying electricity, were at the Concord Mills Mall AMC theater near Charlotte, N.C., on March 24, when an argument over seating for a screening of “Us” ended with shots being fired in the theater 15 minutes into the movie and a stampede for the exits.
“I think teachers with guns is a great idea. In these places with gun bans, the criminals don’t care,” Morris said. “We were in that shooting in the theater, it’s a movie theater and there is no place to go, nobody’s armed, you can’t outrun a bullet. It spilled out of the mall into the parking lot, it was just chaos. There’s no cost to arming teachers, why not do it?”
The Concord Mills shooting involved three shots being fired in the crowded theater, with one person being wounded. An 18-year-old from South Carolina was arrested.
Males said both he and Morris are familiar with firearms.
Arguments against arming teachers range from opposition to the idea of fighting gun violence with more guns to its rate of effectiveness, with critics pointing out that even schools with armed guards have fallen victim to school shootings and that trained teachers are unlikely to hit the target in a high-stress situation, as even the law enforcement officer accuracy rate is low. Those opposed also point out that having a gun in a school potentially makes it available to every student, teacher and visitor, including those with mental health issues, and increases the likelihood of accidents. Teachers could also make grave mistakes when deciding if deadly force is necessary. National groups opposed to the practice include the Violence Policy Center and the non-partisan Everytown For Gun Safety Support Fund.
Newton, the Warren superintendent, said any teachers who volunteer for the project will receive exhaustive training. He told the board that the firearms would be used only as a response measure to an active shooter.
The board in April also approved recruitment of a full-time school resource officer, an armed deputy assigned to the district by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Warren Local Schools, proposal to allow teachers to carry concealed weapons in school buildings
• Board of education scheduled to vote on resolution May 20.
• Teachers would volunteer, receive intensive training.
• Process would go into effect in fall opening of 2019-20 school year.
• The measure is part of a comprehensive safety and security plan for both old buildings and new ones.