The North Pike School board discussed security at schools Thursday in the wake of the devastating Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Conn.
North Pike Superintendent Dr. Ben Cox said he has had calls following the tragedy asking him if he would allow his staff and teachers to carry a gun or if he would carry a gun.
“A lot of people are saying they want their so-and-so to have a weapon on campus,” Cox said. “We know that is not something we should have is to have teachers with pistols in their purses or pistols on their sides.”
Cox said many options were discussed at a meeting between area superintendents before Christmas.
“There is nothing to stop it, nothing to guarantee a person won’t come on campus,” he said. “But the more I’ve thought about it, the safest thing ... the safest way to have a weapon on campus is to have a trained resource officer.”
Cox is against his principals having a handgun because he believes it is more likely the gun would accidentally discharge or be taken away from the principal as he or she is trying to stop a fight or a threat.
Cox said the biggest risk with hiring an officer is the salary, which ranges from $28,000 to $48,000, he said.
“Each resource officer we hire, is a teacher we can’t hire,” he said.
However, he doesn’t want the cost to be the reason the board chooses not to hire a resource officer.
Trustee Etta Taplin said she thought there might be grants that could help hire someone.
The board also discussed other ways to beef up security around its campuses.
“There is not one thing that you are going to be able to do and there are not 10 things you are gong to be able to do, but everything that you do that makes a deterrent to someone” can be beneficial, trustee Kevin Matthew said.
The board discussed other measures, such as requiring parents to sign students in at a gate and adding fences.
In other business, the board also discussed creating a disciplinary committee.
Assistant superintendent Jay Smith said he was on a similar committee when he was a principal in Jackson.
The committee would give people an extra chance to appeal an expulsion ruling, Smith said.
The board tabled the discussion so that Cox could get more information for them to study before they make a decision.
