School board will allow teachers to arm selves

el paso county» A rural school district decided Wednesday night to allow its teachers and other school staff members to carry guns on campus to protect students.

Hanover School District 28 board voted 3-2 to allow school employees to volunteer to be armed on the job after undergoing training.

The district’s two schools serve about 270 students about 30 miles southeast of Colorado Springs, and it takes law enforcement an average of 20 minutes to get there. The district shares an armed school resource officer with four other school districts.

Board member Michael Lawson backed the idea not only as way to protect students from a mass shooting but also as protection against possible violence connected with nearby marijuana grows, which he believes are connected with foreign cartels, The Gazette reported.

School board President Mark McPherson said a survey showed the community was split on the issue. While staffers would get some training, the retired Army officer said he didn’t think it would be enough to help them respond effectively to an active shooter. He worries what would happen if they fired and missed in a classroom.

“We need to leave that to the professionals,” said McPherson, who also worries about the risk posed by just having the guns in the school building and how they would be stored.

He said he is aware of only one marijuana growing operation within about 5 miles of the schools. McPherson said he thinks comments about cartel involvement in the area are rumors at this point.