Tri-Valley School District Takes First Step in Letting Employees Carry Guns

UPDATE: According to KDLT News, the measure to allow employees to carry guns has been approved by the Tri-Valley School District.

Monday night, board members authorized a Sentinel Program, and although more work needs to be done, this paves the way for staff or volunteers to carry a weapon on school grounds.

Both the superintendent and the chairman of the Tri-Valley School Board say the idea for this program doesn't come from a knee jerk reaction to any event or threat, it's simply a preventative measure they want to take.

Time for the million dollar question. Is arming our school employees a good idea or surefire recipe for disaster?

That's a question the parents of Tri-Valley students will soon be faced with if the school district allows school employees to be the first in the state to carry guns.

This news comes on the heels of South Dakota State legislators passing a school sentinel law in March of 2013, just a few months after the deadly Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut.

The law would allow "any school board to create, establish and supervise the arming of school employees, hired security personnel or volunteers."

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There's not a single school district in South Dakota that has trained sentinels at the moment, but that could change if the Tri-Valley district takes a step in that direction beginning in April. The Tri-Valley School Board gave unanimous initial approval to a school sentinel policy on Monday, March 14, 2016.

As you can imagine, there is a difference of opinion on the issue.

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