An Ohio school district’s new policy allows teachers and school staff to be armed over concerns of response times to active shooters.
The River Valley Local School District in rural Marion County joins 22 other school districts in the state that permit approved staff members to carry weapons on campus, according to the Marion Star.
“Our schools will no longer be soft targets and unprotected,” Superintendent Adam Wickham said, according to the outlet. “Most active-shooter events occur in areas of ‘gun-free zones’ or with minimal safety measures in place. We want to ensure our schools will not be soft targets.”
“As a rural community, response times can often be minutes away in the event of an active shooter,” Wickham went on. “The use of armed staff in our buildings can potentially save lives by providing a more immediate response to the threat. Recent school shootings such as in Nashville, Uvalde and Parkland clearly show that the quicker the response time, the more likely you are to potentially save lives.”
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The superintendent said that each of the school district’s four buildings — which include a high school, a middle school and two elementary schools — will have an armed staff member in addition to the school resource officer on campus from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Wickham said community response to the policy has been mostly positive despite misgivings from some parents, according to the local outlet.
“Some have expressed questions about the training and selection process,” he said. “The vast majority of parents have expressed appreciation for the proactive approach in protecting their children. That is really a main reason for adopting the use of armed staff.”
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“While we understand not everyone will support this program, every safety measure we take at River Valley, including the use of armed staff, is put in place to try and ensure our staff and students can go home safely to their families and loved ones each and every day.”
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 99 on June 13, 2022, allowing school districts across the state to authorize teachers, principals and other staff to carry guns into classrooms with 24 hours of training. Lawmakers fast-tracked the law despite criticism from some Democrats who said it sent the wrong message in the wake of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
According to Wickham, armed staff in the district will require more training than that recommended by the state. In 2020, the district required a total of 50 hours of training.
