Despite two dead in shooting, NRA money is still welcome at Marshall County Schools

The Kentucky school district where two 15-year-old students were gunned down by a fellow classmate in January received about $5,300 in grant money from the National Rifle Association Foundation two years ago.

But Marshall County Schools does not plan on following the move of a Florida school district — where 17 people were killed at a school on Valentine's Day — by ceasing to accept future money from the gun-rights organization.

"I'm not against the NRA," Marshall County Schools Superintendent Trent Lovett told Courier Journal on Monday. "Without somebody pulling the trigger, these guns wouldn’t do what they're doing."

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The NRA has come under criticism after the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Many of its corporate partners have severed ties with the group, and the school district opted to reject future grants after learning the shooting suspect, Nikolas Cruz, was on a school rifle team that received NRA money.

Across the nation, few school districts have followed suit.

In Kentucky, school districts and schools received nearly $59,000 from the NRA for shooting programs and equipment, according to an Associated Press analysis of the gun-rights group's tax filings. That is 17 percent of the more than $349,000 given to organizations in the state between 2010 and 2016, many of which primarily serve youths.

Just under $85,000 was given in Kentucky in 2016, which was over $50,000 more than in 2010, the data show. The amount of money given in the state has increased every year since 2013.

Marshall County Schools' board of education received a $5,309 grant in 2016 for a "general shooting program," the database shows. Marshall County Schools oversees Marshall County High School, where 15-year-olds Bailey Holt and Preston Cope were shot and killed on Jan. 23.

Lovett said the money was likely used for the school's trap shooting or archery teams.

“It’s not like we have a ton of it," Lovett said, referring to the grant money. "And if it’s to help one of our teams or whatever the case may be, I would not be opposed to accepting that money at this time. I won’t say that won’t ever change.”

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The NRA Foundation gave more than $7 million in grants to roughly 500 elementary, middle and high schools in the United States, the AP analysis found. The money was part of the NRA's larger community grant program, which distributed more than $61 million over the seven-year period to nonprofit and government organizations, nearly half of which went to grant proposals that involved youths.

NRA did not immediately respond to a Courier Journal email seeking comment on Monday.

NRA money in Kentucky schools

In Kentucky, a total of 50 grants were doled out to 28 schools and organizations between 2010 and 2016, according to the Associated Press database.

The state's $349,348 total ranked 32nd among U.S. states and Washington, D.C. The amount of grant money per 100,000 people ranked 37th, based on 2010 U.S. Census population data.

According to the database, 24 of the grants in Kentucky were given for the sole purpose of purchasing equipment, 17 funded shooting programs and four funded competitive shooting competitions. Other reasons included training, safety and range improvements.

Roughly $48,000 was given directly to six schools spread across Hardin, Daviess, Shelby, Harrison and Lewis counties. Two other school districts — those in Marshall and Graves counties — also received funding, worth another $10,600.

Five of the six schools that received grants used the money for JROTC programs, the analysis found.

Lewis County Schools, in northeastern Kentucky, used a $5,232 grant in 2016 to buy five precision air rifles and two long-range targets, according to Superintendent Jamie Weddington. He said the school's JROTC program has applied for another grant this cycle to buy 20 target systems so the district could host shooting competitions.

"They're providing grants for stuff to be used at our schools," Weddington said. "They pay to help support our JROTC program, so I don't have any issues. ... It's a grant like any other grant out there."

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NRA contributions to youth groups

The other roughly $291,000 funneled into the state by the NRA over the same timeframe primarily went to organizations that sponsored shooting teams, Boy Scout troops and gun clubs.

The Northern Kentucky Scholastic Trapshooting Team in Campbell County received the most money in the state — $54,872 spread across six grants, according to the database.

The second-largest recipient of the grants was the Lincoln Heritage Boy Scouts Council, which is headquartered in Louisville and serves 64 counties across four different states, including Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee.

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The organization received $52,454 in six grants that are being used to provide equipment and funding for shooting programs, according to the database.

The University of Kentucky Bracken County 4-H Council received $21,042 from the NRA, the third-largest amount among the 28 Kentucky recipients.

Molly Jordan, a spokeswoman for the group, said the money was used to buy trap houses, where they store clay pigeons, as well as to buy ammunition and rifles.

She said youth participants must go through mandatory training that must be attended by a parent or guardian who has to be on the range with them. Their age range is 9 to 18.

"There’s no way that we could operate in such a small county without the help of the NRA grant," Jordan said.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. Justin Sayers: 502-582 4252; jsayers@gannett.com; Twitter: @_JustinSayers. Phillip M. Bailey: 502-582-4475; pbailey@courier-journal. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/justins.