Kingsburg Joint Union High School District will now allow teachers to carry guns on campus.
The school board on Monday unanimously approved a new policy that allows up to five district employees – designated by the superintendent – to carry a concealed firearm on school grounds.
Chosen employees will have to complete training approved by Superintendent Randy Morris, and their discipline record, evaluations and school conduct also will be considered.
“I am a proponent of the Second Amendment, and I’m also the biggest proponent of protecting the kids,” Morris said.
While there was little outcry at Monday’s school board meeting, critics say the measure is extreme, pointing to an otherwise lax school campus. At Kingsburg High, which enrolls about 1,200 students, there is no surrounding fence, no police officer on campus and students are allowed to leave for lunch each day.
Mary Lou Swenning, who has grandchildren in the district, compared the policy to something from the “Wild West” and said it will create an unnecessary burden for teachers.
“Now we’re going to add something else for teachers to think about? Shooting people, really?” she said. “That’s a difficult thing for a police officer to do who’s been trained to do this, and you have a split second to decide if you should kill this person or not. I wouldn’t want that responsibility, and I wouldn’t want it for our teachers.”
Kingsburg parent Tamara Norris said she is concerned how the policy will affect the student body, and that her daughter feels uneasy about not knowing which teachers will have weapons on campus.
“I’m wondering how the board might interact with the kids in regards to the level of anxiety that will potentially occur for some of them. I understand why you would not publicly announce who is carrying, but (my daughter) is wondering, ‘Who can I trust?’ ” Norris said. “It makes her very nervous. I can’t imagine she’s the only one.”
Kingsburg High student Andrew Vorhees said most of the community is in support of the policy, but it came as a surprise.
