Officials at Riverside Local Schools in Logan County began discussions this month about the possibility of arming district teachers.

Officials at Riverside Local Schools in Logan County began discussions this month about the possibility of arming district teachers.

Incidents such as the Sandy Hook shootings in December 2012 have prompted many school districts across the country to take another look at their safety precautions and make sure students are as safe as possible.

The Delaware City School District is among those that have upped their security to include buzzer systems at all entrances, and have trained staff and custodians to check that all doors are locked during the day.

In addition, some districts have discussed the pros and cons of allowing teachers to carry guns.

Supporters of the idea have said police often are not able to get to a school in time to prevent a shooting, so teachers need to be prepared to handle an intruder. Opponents have said allowing guns into schools could create more fatalities from accidental shootings.

Delaware district Superintendent Paul Craft agreed there is a greater risk in arming teachers with guns than the risk of an intruder getting in the classroom with a weapon.

"We have taken steps to create layers of security at each of our facilities and we have a partnership with the police department that has trained us on what to do if we have an active shooter," Craft said.

Craft said the responsibility of the teachers is to teach, as well as to love and care for students. It is not the teacher's job, he said, to provide armed security for the students.

"We have trained police in our community that can respond to any issue that arises," he said. "I would worry you bring more risk into the schools when you arm teachers. I think if you arm teachers, it won't be long before you start hearing about accidental discharges and misplaced weapons."

Craft said it's important to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of having loaded weapons in schools.

"My heart goes out to teachers when they are not armed and someone with a gun comes into the classroom," he said. "However, the risk of having an active shooter is less than the risks involved when you introduce guns into school buildings."

Craft said if the nation sees increasingly frequent threats to the schools, the option could be reconsidered.

"You have to weigh the real risks and the rewards," he said. "The risk is not nonexistent, but it's not great enough that we need to arm our teachers.

"I believe you have to have a balance, and I believe the safest course for us is what we're following now," he said. "We have a balance."