An isolated school in Idaho has decided to purchase firearms to provide protection to its students, faculty and administrators against criminals.
The Green Valley School District said its members of the board agreed to arm the school and trained its staff to use the weapons because the nearest police station in the state capital Boise is about 60 miles away and the police response time to an emergency alert takes about 45 minutes.
Boise County Sheriff Ben Roeber has given his approval for the arming of the school, saying that the case of Green Valley is unique. "Where they are located geographically, we don't have the staffing size to where we can guarantee safety. The school, knowing they were facing response times of up to 45 minutes, started seeking out different ideas and different options," he said.
In case a security problem arises, the school would not have to wait anymore for the police to arrive and would now be able to react quickly with trained and well-armed security officers able to meet the threat, officials said.
According to Superintendent Marc Gee, they will post signs this summer to warn that the school is armed. Citing safety reasons, Gee refused to disclose how many guns were purchased.
"I can say that we consulted with our certified trainer and legal counsel on the number of and appropriate model of firearms for our situation and we followed those recommendations," he said, according to Idaho Education News.
The guns will be placed in safes. About five staff members have been trained and authorized to use the weapons.
"I'm extremely proud of the work that's been done here," said Garden Valley School Board Vice Chairman Alan Ward. "I am shocked at how well it worked out."
According to the minutes of the board meeting on April 14, the safes have been installed and the school district would purchase four slings, extra magazine rounds and body armor vests costing about $2,000.
Roeber expressed his support to the project last year and the board said it only moved forward when it got the support of the sheriff's department.
"The school is very well aware that the training needs to be ongoing and consistent. They are very committed to giving the training necessary to educators to try and fill a need and protect their kids. They are showing due diligence," said Roeber.
