Huntington considering arming school staff

HUNTINGTON, Ind. (WANE)  Another school district in northeast Indiana is weighing the possibility of adding more firearms inside its schools.  Huntington County Superintendent Tracey Shafer said that’s one of the options on the table as leaders look to make their schools safer.

Dawn Harvey and Robert Bailey each have kids in the Huntington County school system.  Each have firearm experience in the military.  But they differ on the topic of increased firearms in their schools.

“I believe that we should have more people in place who can defend our children,” Harvey said.  “Having more good guys with guns to offset the bad guy with guns…I'm for that.”

“There are other creative resources and ways we can do this as opposed to throwing more bullets at it,” said Bailey.  “Just because you get a license doesn't mean you know what you're doing.”

Shafer said they're not just looking at more guns, but are also considering heightened building security and more law enforcement. 

Leaders in the school district met with the Sheriff Terry Stoffel on Monday.  Stoffel recommended having a few staffers carry firearms in schools.  That's in addition to the district's resource officer, who already covers the high school and middle schools.  But Stoffel stressed they would have to be the right people with the right training.

“We all agree that if anyone is going to have a firearm in school, they need to be trained, certified, checked out, and be going through constant training to have that privilege,” Shafer said.  “All options are still available to us and we haven't ruled out anything.”

The Huntington County school board should to discuss the safety options in a private meeting in the near future.  Before approving anything, Shafer said he expects it to be brought up in a public hearing.