Sheriff, Claymont school board discuss allowing teachers to carry guns

DENNISON ― Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell and the Claymont Board of Education on Tuesday discussed an administration proposal to allow school staff to resume carrying guns on school property.

The board deferred action on the measure after member Cyndy Host asked questions and said she needs more information.

"I personally have to understand it and know the risks that are involved," she said. "I have questions as it relates to risk for the district, risks for a staff member if they do end up in that situation.

Guns in schools:Schools await state guidance before arming staff members again

"If our teacher misses and a bystander gets hit, what's that liability on them?" Host added. "Are they going to lose their license? Could they personally be sued?"

Campbell said that even law enforcement officers could accidentally shoot a bystander.

"Risk mitigation ... that's huge with me because I don't ever want the district to be in a position of putting us at risk, or students at risk, or teachers. It's anybody, right? It's a teacher. It's an aide. It's a bus driver. It's the custodian," Host said.

Superintendent Brian Rentsch and board member Michelle Wolf said any staffer accidentally discharging a gun would go on paid leave, undergo an investigation, and be prohibited from carrying a weapon at school in the future.

Procedures were developed in consultation with trainers, lawyers and the district's liability insurance company, Rentsch said.

Sheriff Orvis Campbell supports school staff carrying guns

Some Claymont staff were previously authorized to carry guns. But an Ohio Supreme Court ruling in 2021 stopped the arming of most staff members at schools. It ruled that school staff members must meet state peace officer training or experience requirements prior to being permitted to be armed on duty.

Before the ruling, staff had been permitted to carry weapons in the Claymont, Newcomerstown, Indian Valley, Tuscarawas Valley and Garaway school districts. A state law signed by Gov. Mike DeWine in June provides a legal framework to allow school employees to once again carry or have access to guns on school property.

But the state is still hiring the staff to train and certify school employees, and writing the curriculum required under the new law, according to Campbell.

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The policy draft from Claymont's superintendent requires that staffers who would carry or have access to firearms complete the curriculum, instruction and training established under state law. Annually, they would need recertification training and to pass a criminal background check. The superintendent would have the discretion to temporarily or permanently suspend any employee's authorization.

The sheriff said he recommended that the district reinstitute concealed carry for trained staff because it works, and Claymont already had it.

He shared conversations he had with another local superintendent, who initially said he would leave education if he had to arm teachers. Then he saw photos from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut, and said he would not be able to work in education again if that happened and he didn't try to do something about it.

Tuscarawas County sheriff: 'There's no easy answers'

"It's a real dilemma," Campbell said. "There's no easy answers. But I think if you take emotion out of it, factually, it gives you your best chance at a response if something happens."

The county's top law enforcement officer used the school board meeting as an example. He said that if a shooter entered the room and started firing, a Dennison police officer who was two blocks away would not arrive in time to stop him. Those in attendance would not be calling 911, but would be seeking cover to try to save their lives.

"However, if a teacher was two classrooms up and heard it, didn't have to make a phone call, didn't have to try to explain to a dispatcher what was going on, who then had to dispatch the police there, who then had to figure out where it was at in the building, you're eliminating a lot of time," Campbell said.

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"The contrast is that, if nobody's there, then the shooter's going to go unopposed for minutes or dozens of minutes," the sheriff said. "For us, it's about getting someone there as quickly as possible. Time equals body count. The more seconds and minutes that go on, the more that's going to happen."

The 29-year law enforcement veteran said he knows what it's like to drive 100 mph and still need 15 minutes to respond to a call for help. If a school shooting happens, all law enforcement officers in the county are going to respond.

He gave the school board examples about the difference civilians made, or could have made, in shootings. He said a July shooting at an Indiana mall was stopped by a legally armed man. A teacher in Norman, Oklahoma, wrestled with a student and took away a gun he brandished in the classroom. A Sandy Hook teacher died with her arms outstretched to protect her pupils.

"I am guessing had she had a gun with her, it wouldn't have ended that way," Campbell said.

'Schools are still the absolute, safest place in America for kids'

He said that having police officers in schools won't necessarily prevent deaths, as they could become the first victims, leaving others vulnerable. For the same reason, the identities of armed school staffers are to remain confidential. Locally, Dover, New Philadelphia and Sandy Valley schools have officers in the buildings.

Campbell dispelled another myth: that people in a school will be able to react after shooting starts. In the 2012 Chardon High School shooting, two officers at school did not know it had taken place until other law enforcement officers arrived in response to a 911 call, he said.

Campbell said he believes that the country has experienced 100 years of history in the last three years. He said his department had four shootings in last 18 months, but only one in the previous 28 years.

Nationwide, he said, there were about 35 school shootings last year.

"Schools are still the absolute, safest place in America for kids," the sheriff said.

The next school board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Nov. 14 in the administration building at 201 North Third St.

Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.

On Twitter: @nmolnarTR

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Claymont administration proposes resuming concealed carry for staff