Members of the Eastern Pulaski School Board did not reach a definite decision Monday evening about whether to allow firearms on school property. Last year a change in Indiana law allowed concealed weapons with a permit to be in locked cars on school property. This prompted school boards all over the state to consider whether weapons should be allowed within the schools. The policy would not apply to students, just to a designated group of faculty members who would have to undergo training and psychological evaluation.
Superintendent Dan Foster offered his opinion to the board.
“Personally I don’t want one. I don’t want to carry one, and even if you said I could I probably won’t. It’s just something I’m not comfortable with as an individual. Trained police officers sometimes, in the heat of the battle, so to speak, unfortunately make an error in judgment, and I fear for people that may not get a whole lot of training and may be making an unfortunate error in judgment as well.”
Board member Rhonda Heims suggested getting the community’s input before making a decision. She noted board members are elected by citizens and have an obligation to abide by their wishes.
The board wanted input from all seven members. Larry Beach was absent, so they tabled the topic until their July 14th meeting. It’s scheduled at 5:30 p.m. EDT in the Distance Learning Lab.
