Rural school grapple with open carry rules for faculty

Sept. 25--Some patrons are speaking out against a proposal they fear will require teachers to carry guns in the rural Mountain View School District.

But the board member who drafted the measure says arming all teachers would be "crazy."

Mike Dominguez said the policy he's introducing would merely mean the district -- with schools in Grangeville, Kooskia and Elk City -- would be ready "so that if it comes to the point that we need to arm teachers, we've got a policy in place and we can do so."

The measure, which is scheduled for a first reading next month, reflects an Idaho statute that allows an employee to carry a gun in a school if authorized by the board.

It "would give the board the option to allow someone to be armed," Superintendent Kent Stokes said.

That possibility has drawn several letters to the editor of the Idaho County Free Press, including from former Grangeville City Councilor Shelley Dumas.

"It seems like a quick-trigger solution to a possible problem," Dumas said in a phone interview. "I'd rather that they would explore other avenues first."

A draft version of the policy includes the statement that "the school board may, from time to time, authorize specific individuals to possess certain firearms or other equipment on school property, at school-sponsored or school-related events, and at board meetings."

"I have sincere and serious doubts that the teachers favor this, from the two teachers that I've talked with," Dumas said. "I think that their acceptance or permission is critical."

Dominguez said he just wants the district to be prepared, "if we start seeing an increase in school violence in terms of terrorism or anything like that."

Only teachers who complete an initial training course and participate in ongoing weapons handling and tactical training could participate, Dominguez said.

"To have every teacher carrying a gun would be crazy," he said. "We have no intention of arming teachers. We just want to have a policy in place in case that arises."

Dominguez, whose children attend the district's Clearwater Valley schools in Kooskia, said being many miles away from law enforcement is a motivating factor in seeking a gun provision. Kooskia is about 40 minutes from Grangeville, where the Idaho County Sheriff's Office is located. Elk City, where Mountain View's other school is located, is nearly one and a half hours from Grangeville.

"We can be 30 minutes out from a police response," Dominguez said of Kooskia's schools.

Also compelling, he said, is the likelihood that people are already bringing concealed weapons into Mountain View schools.

"I would much rather know who has guns in our school than not know who has guns in our school," Dominguez said.

That argument doesn't go far with Patrick Phillips, who teaches at Grangeville's elementary-middle and high schools.

"Trying to scare people into buying into your idea is about the lowest form of persuasion," Phillips said.

He is a gun owner, Phillips said, but he has reservations about a policy he feels is unnecessary.

"Not that I really have much against guns," he said. "I just have something against the gun-solves-everybody's-problem mentality that's promoted by the NRA."

At Grangeville schools, Phillips said, proximity to law enforcement is not an issue. Both the police station and sheriff's office are just minutes away.

Idaho County sheriff supports proposed policy, offers training from his department

Idaho County Sheriff Doug Giddings, who is supportive of the proposed gun policy, compared guns kept in schools for emergency situations to the fire alarms and sprinkler systems schools are required to have.

Even though they've never had a school death from a fire in the district, he said, students and teachers participate in fire drills on a regular basis, to be prepared.

"How many school shootings have we had (in the U.S.)? We've had way too many," Giddings said. "But nobody wants to address the issue, because they're afraid of guns."

Should the Mountain View School District adopt the proposed policy, Giddings said, his department will provide the training for employees who are selected by the board and opt to participate.

"We're offering free training for any of those that decide they might want to carry," Giddings said. "We are glad to assist them in going forward with that policy."

Whether that happens, Giddings said, is up to the Mountain View School District.

"We encourage them, we're behind them, but we have no say in it," he said. "It's strictly the board's policy, it's their decision."

Superintendent Stokes said the district has discussed the proposal with the Grangeville Police Department and is encouraged by its response as well.

"We work closely with the police department," Stokes said. "The police do some trainings in our buildings after hours. We have a good relationship. We take their advice. We listen to them."

State school board association provides 'information without ideology'

The idea for creating a weapons policy for Mountain View came after attending a session at the Idaho School Boards Association annual conference in Coeur d'Alene last year, Dominguez said.

Association spokeswoman Jess Harrison said the session, which will be repeated at this year's conference in Boise next month, was organized to provide "information without ideology," addressing a polarizing topic in a factual way.

"That's what we've seen is people tend to feel passionately one way or the other," Harrison said. "That is why having this workshop is so good."

Harrison said the association encourages school boards to have conversations with their communities, law enforcement officers and insurers if they are considering such a policy.

"We made it clear that the ISBA is not endorsing any position," she said. "We just want to have this dialogue."

Presenters at last year's session included representatives from law enforcement, a liability insurer, legal counsel and a school district that has a weapons policy.

That school district is Garden Valley, and one of the presenters was its board chairman, Alan Ward.

The language in Garden Valley's policy, which was implemented about two years ago, serves as the model for the measure Dominguez has been crafting.

The tiny school district in a remote, unincorporated area of Boise County keeps rifles in safes inside its schools, accessible only by trained staff members.

Garden Valley's policy has attracted national attention, but little concern from within the district.

"Our community is probably -- I'm going to speculate a little bit -- 95 percent pro," Ward said. "I think it's because they understand that we have no police department that's available 24/7."

In fact, a response from law enforcement could be more than half an hour away at any given time.

"We tell them that a large reason why we've done that is we're a remote community," Ward said. "We cannot wait 45 minutes for law enforcement."

Salmon River School District also looking at options

Jim Doramus, superintendent of the Salmon River School District in Riggins, recently visited Garden Valley to see the practice in person.

His district's school board has discussed drafting a gun policy since last spring, though members are still in the early stages of the process.

"They're really struggling over the fact that we're even having to talk about it," Doramus said. "The concern is that we're so far away from a police presence, and if something did happen, who's going to be there."

Doramus and a board member attended the school boards association session last year, and the Salmon River board has met with Sheriff Giddings.

One question, Doramus said, is how to provide the number of hours of training a teacher might require in order to be authorized to use a gun at the school. Sheriff's deputies, he said, average about eight hours of weapons training a month, a time commitment he's not sure the district could demand of teachers.

"Bottom line, our board is very interested in doing something, because they understand that where we're at we're isolated," Doramus said. "But they just haven't come to a consensus of what that might be yet."

The leader of another rural north central Idaho school district said he doesn't believe his board would ever support a policy that could result in guns in schools.

"I would be totally opposed to serving in a district that had this kind of policy," said Orofino School District Superintendent Robert Vian, adding that he is a gun owner. "I just think it's a horrible idea to try to add more guns to the mix."

Idaho County Sheriff's Cpl. Carlos Martinez, who is challenging Giddings in the November election, said he doesn't oppose the policy Mountain View is considering, but neither is he sold on it.

"I guess you could say I do have some reservations about it," Martinez said. "I don't think the school understands how much time it's going to take for that kind of training."

Nearby districts, such as Cottonwood and Kamiah, Martinez said, have opted to develop school resource officer programs that provide some measure of protection in their schools.

"That's how most districts deal with this, is find a way to fund a school resource officer," Martinez said. "There are ways to put firearms in the schools in the hands of police officers."

Dominguez said he hopes those with questions, concerns or ideas will discuss them with school board members, if they haven't already.

"I want to be as transparent as possible with this," he said. "I want people to have input on what we as a board are doing."

Few patrons who have publicly shared questions or concerns about the idea have attended school board meetings where it has been discussed, Stokes said.

With the proposed policy scheduled for a first reading during the 5:30 p.m. school board meeting Oct. 17 at the district office in Grangeville, he said there's time to change that.

"We've asked for input and we'll still take input," he said.

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Stone may be contacted at [email protected] or at (208) 848-2244. Follow her on Twitter @MarysSchoolNews.

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