YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — A school district in central Washington is considering arming some educators and administrators.



The Yakima Herald-Republic reports that the Naches Valley School District is holding a public forum Monday evening at the Naches Valley Middle School.



Superintendent Duane Lyons says the ultimate goal would be to keep students and staff safe in the event of an emergency.



“Should we allow some of our employees to be trained and armed? We don’t have the answer to that yet,” Lyons said, according to the Herald. “But we hope to have that discussion with the community and staff.”



Lyons says the district first looked at arming instructors six years ago but no action was taken.



In December, Lyons and three school board members met with Toppenish Superintendent John Cerna over their school district’s well-known policy which allows some administrators to carry weapons.



Cerna said it makes sense for their district because “Naches is way out there, so their response time is probably 20 to 30 minutes. For them it’s probably even more critical.”