Renewed discussions are happening in Santa Rosa County over whether to allow teachers to be armed inside classrooms.
County Commissioner James Calkins is pushing for the Guardian Program to be implemented in Santa Rosa County schools.
The program was established in 2018 after the shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School. It permits school staff to carry firearms to protect students and teachers if an active shooter situation were to occur.
According to the state department of education, Santa Rosa County is the only school district in Northwest Florida that is not participating in the program.
“I’m proud of the leadership of Okaloosa County, Escambia County and also 43 other counties in the state of Florida who have got the Guardian Program. I don’t like Santa Rosa County being last,” said Calkins.
Calkins has talked with Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson about the Guardian Program.
While Johnson says he’s not entirely against it, he believes the school resource officers in place are capable of handling active shooter situations because of the extensive training they go through.
If the program were to be implemented, Johnson’s deputies would be responsible for training school staff.
But he says that instruction wouldn’t be as complete and that comes with some liabilities.
“When it comes to just basically arming teachers, that can get pretty scary,” says Sheriff Johnson. “I’ve been in shooting incidents where officers are highly trained that are shooting at a target that’s moving, and they don’t hit that target.”
Commissioner Calkins says he plans to bring up a resolution and present it before the school board at some point.
Ultimately, the Superintendent of the school board has the final say on whether to implement the Guardian Program.
