The Board of Education in Cobb County, Georgia, recently voted to allow noncertified district employees, and not teachers, to carry guns while in school buildings.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale told Fox 5 Atlanta that "this policy gives us other opportunities to enhance and increase the number of school resource officers."
He added that the board amended the proposal to specifically exclude teachers and staff who work in classrooms from carrying firearms.
"I was not in favor of arming teachers, but I was in favor of exploring all possibilities of being able to enhance and increase the number of school resource officers that we have," Ragsdale said.
“Teachers are not going to be armed,” Ragsdale told WSB radio. “It is very important, obviously, for us to exhaust every possible option for keeping our staff and students safe."
Some parents spoke out against the decision.
Laura Judge, a mother of two children in the Cobb County school system, told Fox 5: "I'm happy that the superintendent doesn't want to arm teachers, but I am afraid of armed individuals being around my children."
Beoncia Loveless, a mother of a child in Cobb County who volunteers with Moms Demand Action, told WSB: "I absolutely would be concerned about unintentional shootings."
She added: "More guns around our children is not the best way to make them safe."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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