That was I. Sorry I didn’t get back to posting the estimated cost: $2000-$3000 per teacher. Only volunteers would be armed, and nobody knows how many teachers that would be. The board has acknowledged that the district doesn’t have the money, However, the board member who owns a gun shop and is one of those pushing the plan says he’s sure he can get trainers to donate their time. I assume the trainers would be off-duty cops and deputies, but I have no idea.
This same board member asked why anyone would want to psych eval a teacher. According to him, there’s no need. Another board member said only a coward runs from a fight. I mention these things so you know what kind of board members we’re dealing with here.
I forgot to add that’s for an estimated 20 hours of training. I don’t know if you can assume that’s what teachers would get nationally or that the cost would be the same.
I don’t agree that the gun shop guy has a solution for training.
Training has to be far more than figuring out how to get the safety off and hit a target.
Training would have to include everything that goes into managing an active shooter event.
It’s not just a matter of opening fire on someone you see with a gun. Target practice doesn’t prepare a teacher to go up against one of his/her students who has an AR-15 in a populated school environment.
Beyond that, my daughter is a high school teacher, and her take is that every teacher at her school would oppose this idea of adding more guns to the school environment for a number of reasons.
I think you’ve just provided the solution to this entire debate. My district estimated training costs to run about $2000-$3000 per teacher. (They’re hoping to get volunteer trainers.) Tell teachers they’re going to have to pony up that much cash, or even half that much, and even fewer teachers would sign up. Maybe it would be cheaper elsewhere, or maybe every district can find qualified trainers who’ll donate their time. You’d also have to factor in that districts might want teachers to have more than the approx. 20 hours of training my district is looking at.
I know Trump has proposed giving armed teachers a bonus, but I haven’t heard where that would come from. . If it covers the cost of training, that might boost numbers a bit. But few districts have that kind of cash.
Even when the alternative is just wait until he runs out of ammo?
It’s not like we have a choice between having the Social Studies teacher take on the school shooter or have Seal Team 6 do it. If we did, we’d all obviously choose the latter. But we don’t. We have a choice between having the Social Studies teacher take on the school shooter, or everyone just wait until either he runs out of ammo, or the cops show up (and decide to make entrance).
I imagine there are several other threads to discuss options along those lines. If you feel one’s missing, or have your own solution you’d like to propose, perhaps starting a new thread with that as the topic would be the appropriate course of action.
Iirc, the go to guys for validation of gun polices is Switzerland - and it turns out that doesn’t make much sense anyhoo. Who’s the go to guys for armed teachers? Those crazy Swiss carry in the classroom?
Of course the school librarian would have to use a silencer.
We’re fooling ourselves if we think that arming teachers is the answer. How long before one of them decides he can’t take any more from an unruly student? How long before a student jumps a teacher and takes his gun? Do we really think the little old lady teaching history is going to turn into Dirty Harry and outgun a teen with an assault rifle? And if she misses and kills a student in the crossfire, is the school liable? Put this down as just another example of failed thinking from the right.
I’m not aware of this happening yet in any of the school districts it’s currently allowed.
Also something I’m not aware of happening in any school districts its currently allowed. Frankly, if I could pay the next school shooter to leave his long gun at home and try this approach, I would.
Stranger things have happened. And, despite your stereotyping, teachers aren’t all ‘old ladies’.
I’m pretty sure the school is going to get sued in the aftermath of a school shooting no matter what.