http://www.vpr.net//audio/programs/56/2013/03/vpr-commentary-martin-20130324.mp3
A few weeks ago, I noticed this unbelievable headline in my Google news feed: Montpelier School Board decides to arm some individuals in schools. No way! I thought to myself, no way can this be true... After all, I know the new Montpelier High School Principal, Adam Bunting, and he's a warm, thoughtful, dedicated educator. I just can't imagine him working with a pistol-packing staff. I mean, I picture Adam working in a free-hugs zone, not a free-fire zone.
Well, it turns out the school district in question is Montpelier, Ohio, Home of the Locomotives. Interestingly enough, the school district was working on the policy even before the Sandy Hook shooting. The superintendent explained it this way, Although we felt we were doing a good job with keeping the doors locked and making the visitors sign in and all that, we just felt as though it was time to take another step.
Personally, it's hard for me to imagine a Vermont school taking that step. The Vermonters I know think that best place for guns is on the deer stand, in the duck blind, or at the shooting range, but not in schools.
It's true that many Vermont schools have resource officers, but their role isn't just about firepower. For example, our Montpelier High School, Home of the Solons, has a school resource officer who helps with security, but also with relationships in order to prevent problems before they start. Principal Bunting put it to me this way, When I think about armed teachers, I cannot help but think that we have fundamentally altered our vision for our schools and children... Giving teachers weapons feels more like a barrier than an open invitation for a relationship.
And putting up more barriers and locked doors may not be the answer for our schools. For example, in Atlanta's recent school shooting, metal detectors didn't prevent the suspect from sneaking his gun inside. Principal Bunting doesn't seem to think the answer is to just get more hardware either. He recently told me, As school communities, we need to focus on developing relationships with our students and their parents. Knowing one another well, and taking responsibility for one another, moves us closer to preventing gun violence.
This week Patrick Leahy, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, co-sponsored a bipartisan anti-gun trafficking bill, which the Senator said is a common sense approach. If it becomes law, the bill will punish people who buy guns for other people and make gun trafficking a federal crime. I guess that's a start, but we'll have to wait and see if our elected representatives - and their constituents - still remember Sandy Hook Elementary now that four months have passed...
In the meanwhile, I think Vermonters will stick to their own common sense and community values. After all, in the current climate of budget cuts and belt-tightening, there are many things our schools could use - but they can probably do without more guns.
