Georgetown joins growing fraternity of Ohio schools arming staff to protect students

WKRC (CBS Cincinnati) is reporting that the Georgetown, Ohio school board has voted unanimously to allow trained staff to carry guns in school starting in the fall.

From the article:

Those who will carry guns will have extensive training, such as the training sessions that some staff underwent.

Under the policy, no one would be allowed without being certified.

The training also includes how to de-escalate situations.

The Superintendent says the training that staff will have to go through goes far beyond staff and teachers carrying guns in school and he says the school district is partnering with Georgetown's police department for the training.

The cost of training is entirely covered by Buckeye Firearms Foundation and the FASTER Saves Lives program. "FASTER" stands for Faculty/ Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response.

"There are teachers who are willing to die for the children we leave with them every day. When they come to us and say we need a solution, we need something that will happen," says FASTER Saves Lives program director Joe Eaton. "When we have experts that can provide the training to provide these solutions our Foundation is obligated to make this happen for the schools."

Again, from the WKRC article:

The superintendent says they've been researching the subject for a year.

The superintendent says there are other school districts in Ohio that have already done it.

The closest one that he knows of near us is Bright Local School District in Highland County.

After four years, Buckeye Firearms Foundation's FASTER Saves Lives program has trained 773 school teachers and staff members from 194 districts in 8 states. This includes teachers and staff in 74 of Ohio's 88 counties.

This summer's classes are filling quickly. Apply for training here.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and a NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.