Hard questions for our schools

Following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which killed 17 students and staff, America has resumed its debate on the role guns should play in schools.

President Donald Trump has proposed arming teachers while banning bump stocks. Many Parkland survivors and families have spoken out in favor of stricter gun control.

At this point, though, it’s business as usual for the major Kootenai County school districts.

Post Falls super-intendent Jerry Keane said the district would consider all safety and security measures.

“Nothing is off the table, because our Number 1 priority is keeping kids safe,” Keane said.

Post Falls has installed controlled access “buzz-in” doors at its middle schools and Post Falls High School. All 17 schools in the Coeur d’Alene district use a similar system, according to director of communications Scott Maben, as does Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy.

In the Lakeland Joint School District, all schools have controlled access entrances, according to superintendent Dr. Becky Meyer, with the exception of Lakeland High School.

Meyer said a task force at Lakeland decided the systems would pose an inconvenience because of the high number of events held at the high school, and instead opted for additional surveillance cameras.

She added that the district places a major focus on the social and emotional health of its students.

“We want to proactively build those relationships and systems where people feel a part of something bigger,” Meyer said.

Principal Dan Nicklay of Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy said his school also works actively to reach out to students. He said the smaller population at Charter makes that task easier.

“It’s easy to get used to seeing people coming and going,” Nicklay said. “That’s one of the benefits of being a smaller school, is that no one is anonymous.”

The Charter Academy does not have a school resource officer (SRO), nor does it have security personnel. Maben said Coeur d’Alene has eight SROs: one at each of its three high schools and middle schools in addition to two SROs splitting time among 11 elementary schools.

Post Falls employs three SROs — one each for elementary, middle and high schools — in addition to security personnel at the high school.

Lakeland uses one SRO for its three schools in Spirit Lake and another for its three schools in Rathdrum.

Athol, Garwood, and Twin Lakes elementary schools do not have a resource officer, according to Meyer, but she said the district had begun the process of requesting funding from the county commission to secure an additional officer.

In all of the local districts, only an SRO is authorized to carry a firearm, though state law allows for individual districts to determine their own policies on staff possession of weapons.

Post Falls senior Nick Morris said he would like to see his district change that rule.

“Personally, I’d like to see more teachers with guns, as long as they are trained and pass background checks,” Morris said.

His friend, Post Falls senior Casey Walker, disagreed and said he views metal detectors as the only sure-fire solution.

“I think [teachers carrying guns] would just cause more problems,” Walker said. “In my opinion, the only way possible to prevent these shootings would be to have metal detectors at every door, but that would be a big inconvenience.”

Bree Fraser, a 2015 graduate of Lake City High School, said she always felt safe at school but believes teachers and students need to be more educated about gun safety.

“Teachers should be shown real-world scenarios and simulations like law enforcement,” Fraser said. “I’d like to see all teachers have to take gun safety courses.”

Fraser added that she does not think metal detectors are the answer.

“My senior year, it was supposed to be an open campus, but it didn’t feel like an open campus,” she said. “It felt more like a prison. I don’t think metal detectors would make schools any safer.”

At this point, none of the districts plan to arm teachers or add metal detectors because of both financial and logistical reasons.

However, Meyer said she would be open to allowing retired military and law enforcement to provide armed security in Lakeland schools, though no plans are imminent.

According to an email sent to The Press by Ashley Romanowski, a senior at Coeur d’Alene High School, a group of CHS students will be participating in a nationwide walkout at 10 a.m. on March 14.

This past week, dozens of students at Cheney High School walked out in protest of current gun laws.

Officials at Freeman High School — where one student was killed in a campus shooting last September — and Spokane Public Schools are expecting students to participate in organized walkouts over the coming months, according to The Spokesman-Review.