Texas Town OKs Teachers Packing Heat

HARROLD, Texas -- Aug. 15, 2008 — -- A tiny Texas school district may be thefirst in the nation to allow teachers and staff to pack guns forprotection when classes begin later this month, a newspaperreported.

Trustees at the Harrold Independent School District approved adistrict policy change last October so employees can carryconcealed firearms to deter and protect against school shootings,provided the gun-toting teachers follow certain requirements.

In order for teachers and staff to carry a pistol, they musthave a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun; must beauthorized to carry by the district; must receive training incrisis management and hostile situations and have to use ammunitionthat is designed to minimize the risk of ricochet in school halls.

Superintendent David Thweatt said the small community is a30-minute drive from the sheriff's office, leaving students andteachers without protection. He said the district's lone campussits 500 feet from heavily trafficked U.S. 287, which could make ita target.

"When the federal government started making schools gun-freezones, that's when all of these shootings started. Why would youput it out there that a group of people can't defend themselves?That's like saying 'sic 'em' to a dog," Thweatt said in Friday'sonline edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Thweatt said officials researched the policy and consideredother options for about a year before approving the policy change.He said the district also has various other security measures inplace to prevent a school shooting.

"The naysayers think (a shooting) won't happen here. Ifsomething were to happen here, I'd much rather be calling a parentto tell them that their child is OK because we were able to protectthem," Thweatt said.

Texas law outlaws firearms on school campuses "unless pursuantto the written regulations or written authorization of theinstitution."

It was unclear how many of the 50 or so teachers and staffmembers will be armed this fall because Thweatt did not disclosethat information, to keep it from students or potential attackers.Wilbarger County Sheriff Larry Lee was out of the office Thursdayand did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment, thenewspaper said.

Barbara Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas Association ofSchool Boards, said her organization did not know of anotherdistrict with such a policy. Ken Trump, a Cleveland-based schoolsecurity expert who advises districts nationwide, including inTexas, said Harrold is the first district with such a policy.

The 110-student district is 150 miles northwest of Fort Worth onthe eastern end of Wilbarger County, near the Oklahoma border.