Dewhurst wants state to train teachers on guns Proposal to fund weapons training irks educators hit by budget cuts

AUSTIN - Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said Friday that he wants the state to fund training for teachers and other school officials to carry concealed guns.

The idea immediately riled educators, particularly those seeking to have the Texas Legislature restore $5.4 billion that lawmakers cut from the public schools two years ago.

Dewhurst said, "With the increased violence we've seen in public schools in recent years, we must do everything we can to protect the safety and well-being of our most precious possession - our children."

The Senate's leader floated the idea of state-funded, specialized gun training for school personnel during a speech before the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation. He provided few details and no price tag for the voluntary plan, saying it would depend on how many school districts participated.

Gov. Rick Perry also recently voiced support for arming teachers during a tea party forum.

Lawmakers and school officials across the country are grappling with the best ways to improve security after the shooting last month at a Connecticut elementary school that killed 20 children and six educators.

In Texas' largest school district, HISD Superintendent Terry Grier and the leader of the teachers' union both expressed concerns about arming school personnel.

"I think all we would succeed in doing is getting some teachers killed," said Houston Federation of Teachers president Gayle Fallon. "The other issue is, I don't really want to see a gunbattle with a bunch of small children around."

Fallon, worried about students gaining access to guns in a classroom, said state lawmakers should fund more uniformed police officers in schools.

Mental health aid

Grier said additional funding also would allow schools to hire more mental health professionals "to help address the real issue." Any decision to arm teachers would be up to the school board, Grier said, noting that police officers undergo significant training.

"Is the next step to train all of our bus drivers to carry guns?" Grier said. "This is a very complex issue with no easy answers."

The Houston Independent School District has armed police at all middle and high school campuses and officers patrol the elementary schools.

At least one Texas district, Harrold ISD near the Oklahoma border, already allows teachers to carry concealed weapons, and others near Kerrville are considering it, according to local media.

Caronetta Jones, the president of the HISD Council of PTAs, said she would be outraged if teachers at her grandson's high school, or any school, were armed.

"Violence against violence - no," she said. "Even if you train the teachers, I totally disagree with that."

Wrong priorities

Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, said Perry and Dewhurst should concentrate on improving education instead of calling for more guns.

"It is fairly obvious to the people of Texas that teachers need books - not guns - in the classrooms," Martinez Fischer said.

David Rider, the police chief for Fort Bend ISD, expressed reservations about equipping teachers with firearms. Like HISD, the district has armed police officers at its secondary campuses.

"It goes back to training," said Rider, the son of a school principal and counselor. "Right now, police officers are more qualified and have training for critical incidents, as opposed to the average citizen with a concealed handgun license."

Houston Police Department Chief Charles McClelland, asked last month about arming educators, echoed the difference between professional officers and citizens who have just fired at stationary targets.

"I hope our schools remain institutions of learning where kids go to be educated and they're safe and they're not turned into armed camps," he said. "That would be my desire."

Chronicle reporter Mike Morris contributed.