Green Forest schools moving to armed protection

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The Green Forest School District has taken major steps toward increasing campus security, so when students return in the fall, the campus will have four uniformed officers. The district will also begin certifying teachers and administrators to carry concealed firearms, according to Superintendent Dr. Matt Summers.

The school board met on Feb. 19, just days after a young man with a semi-automatic rifle killed 17 people in Florida. The board asked Summers to investigate possible responses, and in March the board voted unanimously to add two more School Resource Officers (SRO) and pursue a plan for “volunteer armed personnel.”

The district already has two SROs, and splits that cost with the city. “The mayor and the city have been partners with us for years,” Summers told the Independent.

Green Forest has already begun advertising to hire new officers, and Summers said the district would now have one SRO for each of the main school buildings. He pointed out that each officer would have a patrol car parked prominently, increasing awareness of police presence.

The directive issued by the school board calls for “the superintendent to have the security of the physical plant reviewed periodically and to implement any viable recommendations that may arrive from these reviews.” An outside agency will conduct the security reviews. Summers said security reviews and additional SROs will play a more important role than arming staff members, but most of the reaction has come from the plan to create and maintain an Emergency Response Team.     

Summers emphasized that the district will take “baby steps” with the plan to train and equip staff. The policy adopted in March allows certified or classified employees of the district to volunteer for the program. The superintendent would evaluate volunteers, who will undergo drug testing and psychological assessment, and he and the board would retain the right to remove someone from the program without cause.

Each volunteer accepted into the program would receive a one-time stipend of $1,100, to cover the cost of equipment and training. A commissioned school security officer must take 60 hours of initial training and 24 hours per year thereafter. Carroll County Sheriff’s officers must also train continually with their weapons, firing at least 50 rounds per month.

School staff already have some non-lethal responses available. Summers explained to the board in March that school policy already allows staff to carry pepper spray.

“It comes down to selection, training, and practice,” Summers said. He recounted a trip to Clarksville, which has had a program in place for five years. Although that district is larger, their model applied to Green Forest.

Before reporting to the board, Summers polled staff members on the question of concealed weapons. They voted two-to-one in favor of the plan, although only 20 percent expressed an interest in volunteering. Board members have estimated the responses they have heard from the public at about 70 percent in favor.

At the April 16 board meeting, two students spoke against arming staff members, and other members of the public offered opinions pro and con. Summers said he understands objections, but said, “I believe we have to do everything we possibly can to protect our staff and students.”

For security reasons, Summers avoided a direct description of which staff members might carry concealed weapons. In response to a question about elementary teachers and others in constant close contact with students, Summers would not rule out their participation. He did note, however, that elementary teachers in Clarksville keep their weapons in a locked safe instead of on their person.

The question of a student getting a weapon from a teacher has provoked much of the negative reaction. “Weapon retention is an important part of the training program,” Summers said. He also discussed another frequent objection, that police arriving on the scene of a shooting incident might not easily distinguish between good guys and bad. “In the event of an incident, they’ll be told not to leave their building,” he said.

Summers said he expects another round of reaction from the community when new signs go up on campus this summer. Current signs around campus proclaim a “drug free, gun free” zone. The “gun free” wording will change to “facility protected by armed security.”