Columbus Dispatch
Armed staffer may be option for schools, DeWine says 

Ohio’s top law-enforcement officer says schools should consider arming “someone” in their building to defend students against a gunman. 

Stressing that it is a decision to be made by local school districts, Attorney General Mike DeWine said that “if I was on a school board ... I would seriously consider having someone in that school, who may be an ex-police officer, someone who has significant training, someone who had access to a gun in school.” 

“But you would have to be very careful about it. I’m not saying everyone in the school should be armed, but someone who knows what they are doing and who has that gun under lock and key and can get to it instantly out of their office. That’s something I would at least debate and talk about." 

DeWine’s remarks came at a news conference yesterday in which he announced that his office would partner with law enforcement and educators to train teachers and administrators on how to deal with “active shooters” and other threats in schools. 

In addition, DeWine said he will expand his School Safety Task Force after the shootings last week at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in which 20 first-graders and six teachers and administrators who tried to protect them were killed. It’s also approaching the one-year anniversary of a shooting at Chardon High School in northeastern Ohio that left three students dead and three more injured. 

“We thought we were doing a good job, but then Chardon happened. As we share the grief of Connecticut, it’s a stronger announcement that the game has changed,” said Richard C. Lewis, executive director of the Ohio School Boards Association. 

“What has worked in the past may not be effective, and everything should go on the table, including giving teachers guns.” 

In Franklin County, the topic has drawn mixed reviews. 

“As far as I’m concerned, ... I don’t think having a gun in the school other than a policeman (carrying one) is appropriate,” said Whitehall school board President Walter Armes, a former teacher and principal. He said a “gun lying around in the office” could breed more problems than administrators need. 

Dublin school board President Chris Valentine said he would welcome a discussion about arming teachers or principals… 

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