Guns at Schools

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By Barbara Green, The Bowie News

Gold-Burg Independent School District voted Monday night to implement a defensive program that uses armed staff members as barriers between students and an intruder.

The board voted to move forward with implementing the program with a 5-1 vote.

Board members were asked to review sample policies from other districts and bring them back to the superintendent to prepare a local policy. That document would then go to the Texas Association of School Boards for legal review and then be returned to the board.

Harrold ISD was the first district in the country to allow its staff members to carry concealed weapons. The programs have grown as school shootings have continued to increase each year.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, there were 36 shooting incidents in 2014, 21 in 2015 and so far in 2016, five. It was pointed out a shooting may not be a mass incident, but could be a suicide or a conflict that involves one or two people. The report features anything involving a gun being brought into a school.

Superintendent Roger Ellis said local concerns center on the geographic location of the district, which is 10 miles from Bowie Police Department and 12 to the Montague County Sheriff's Office. There is no police presence in Stoneburg.

Montague and Prairie Valley both operate similar security programs.

Ellis said response time could vary depending on the location of an officer at the time of an emergency. Federal figures show the average school shooting lasts only 12.5 minutes and the average police response time to an active school shooting is 18 minutes.

Ellis said Gold-Burg has added security video systems, a security vestibule. Exterior doors are locked during school hours and have video surveillance at campus entry points and fenced perimeters from the tennis court to the playground.

The concealed carry program is considered an additional level of security for students and staff if there is threat of violence inside the building. Ellis said all staff participating in the program would be kept private, and the board would be responsible naming who could participate.

Those who are involved would be required to take 24 hours of training by commissioned Texas peace officers. There would be classroom lectures and live firing range work, along with role playing and other practical exercises. Participants must have a concealed handgun permit.

Ellis explained the estimated cost for training of up to 10 people would initially be $12,500, but it goes down after the first year. Cost also would depend on the number of people, the type of training and any stipend the district may pay.