Parkland school district votes against arming teachers with weapons and wants focus on allocation money for mental health
Parkland school district leaders have officially said that they do not want to arm teachers in their institutions. The schools in the district include Broward County Public Schools and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which was the site of February 14 mass shooting in Florida that killed 17 people, mostly students, and teachers.
The leaders came to the decision despite a new law which would allow certain teachers and other school employees to carry guns inside the schools, according to CBS News.
The law runs contrary to what the Parkland shooting survivors have been rallying for. The survivors of the carnage have spurred a nationwide movement against gun violence in the country, demanding stricter gun control legislation. The activists have argued that bringing more guns into the discourse is not the solution to the issue.
Florida state legislature has reportedly designated a $67 million funding to train school personnel or those who are willing to carry guns in the institutions' premises. The latest gun law in the state, formulated in the wake of Florida shooting, is named after the football coach at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Aaron Feis — Aaron Feis Guardian Act. Feis was one of the 17 people who were killed in February.
One of the board members of the Parkland school district, Robin Bartleman, said: "We should definitely launch a campaign to persuade the governor, for those districts who do not want to arm their employees, that they give us the money to keep kids safe in other ways."
Reports state that majority of the board members focused on allocating more money towards mental health issues and collectively voted down arming teachers with guns inside Broward schools, CBS News reported.
Another board member, Patricia Good, said: "As one school board member, under no circumstances do I believe a teacher should have to utilize a weapon in school."
"I have not met one teacher or one student who is in favor of arming teachers in Broward County," said board member Laurie Levinson.
One of the Parkland shooting survivors, Ryan Deitch of Stoneman Douglas High, wrote a tweet shortly after the board members voted on the decision and said: "please do not use Stoneman Douglas as the example for the need of granting firearms to school staff."