School Board Discusses Gun Policy

The board of trustees for Park County School District 6 is taking on the daunting task of trying to craft policy regarding a very sensitive subject – armed personnel in our schools.
At last night’s school board work session, the board went through a draft policy proposed by trustee Scott Weber, picking the paper apart piece by piece, with the assistance of the school district’s attorney, Scott Kolpitcke.
The policy that is being proposed is based on a law that was passed in the Wyoming Legislature last session, House Bill 194. Kolpitcke says that his law firm wrote up a draft policy, which trustee Scott Weber modified and proposed to the board. Discussion of this policy took well over an hour and a half, as board members lingered on various points, including who would be qualified or allowed to carry a weapon, should the district choose to adopt this policy. In the draft, it is written that teachers would not carry guns, but discussion stalled on how legally to contract with other, at-will employees, as the state’s law doesn’t clarify that point.

Other discussion on this draft policy included conflicts of interest on the part of several board members, which Kolpitcke determined did not legally exist. There was lengthy discussion on the validity of psychological exams, as well as whether or not there should be signs posted that alerted visitors that armed personnel were on the premises. On this point, Trustee Weber pointed out that in light of recent shootings around the country, posted notices could be a deterrent to any terrorist activity.

Many hypothetical situations were proposed by trustees in an effort to mold this draft into workable school policy. As this was just a work session, no action was taken on the matter.