http://www.denverpost.com/recommended/ci_23178824
Tiny Dove Creek becomes a model for guns in schools
By Nancy Lofholm The Denver Post The Denver Post
Posted:
DenverPost.com
In a first-of-its-kind move in Colorado, a rural school board has given two of its top administrators new job titles security officer. The new titles make it possible to bypass state gun laws and carry guns in schools.
This move in Dove Creek in the southwest corner of the state has turned the tiny town into a model for other Colorado school districts looking to get around laws that allow only peace and security officers to pack heat in schools. A legislative effort that would have changed that and put guns in the hands of Colorado schoolteachers died in committee earlier this year.
Dove Creek and the Dolores County School District RE-2 found a way to arm school officials because the district is small, can't afford to hire a security officer, and has many employees with overlapping jobs. One of the new security officers, Dolores district Superintendent Bruce Hanks, is also principal of the Dove Creek elementary school. The other new security officer, Assistant Superintendent Ty Gray, also works as principal of the high school and middle school and athletic director.
Their security officer contracts were approved by the board at a February meeting. Each will be paid $1 a year for their officer duties to make the deal legitimate.
Since the Dolores district decided to arm school officials, other districts have been calling the Dolores County Sheriff's Office for advice on how to do the same. Hanks has been traveling to other districts to talk about his new approval to carry that is predicated on an official contract with the district and a salary.
Neither Hanks nor Gray returned calls asking for comment. But Dolores County Undersheriff Tim Rowell was at the meeting when the idea was approved and said he sees it as a good solution to keeping schools safe.
"We've put a lot of thought into this. We want to do this right if we are going to be a model on this," Rowell said.
Doing it right has included fingerprinting and background checks for the administrators. Training is all that now stands between an old-school lack of firepower and having weapons in the principals' offices. Hanks and Gray must complete civilian gun-handling courses before the sheriff's office gives the final green light to carry guns.
Rowell said both have guns and are familiar with them, so the training is being done as an added layer of safety.
Many of the 700 or so residents of Dove Creek own guns and are strong supporters of Second Amendment rights. So the decision to have armed administrators has met with little to no opposition in a town most known around the state for its pinto bean crops.
"It was just kind of a nonreaction deal. Nearly everyone here has guns and hunts, so they figure this isn't a big deal," said Doug Funk, publisher of the Dove Creek Press.
Outside of the district, there has been little public comment about what is happening in Dove Creek.
The Colorado Association of School Boards has not condoned or criticized Dove Creek's unique approach to security. Association spokeswoman Kristine Woolley said the organization views it as an example of a local school board solving a local problem.
"The decision was made within the scope of the board's local authority, and the board made the decision after receiving community input. CASB was not involved in developing the policy, and it is not one of our sample policies," Woolley said.
Janelle Asmus, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Education, said that agency also won't take a stance because it is considered a matter of local control.
Dove Creek is so small it may seem an unlikely place for a school shooting. But the schools there did have a scare several years ago.
Two Dove Creek teenagers hatched a plan to shoot people in the elementary, middle and high schools, which are in two side-by-side buildings. One of the teens e-mailed a student to tell her of their plans, and that student told her parents, who reported it to police.
Law officers found the pair had stolen weapons from a grandmother's house, and they were arrested before anything happened.
"We all knew we needed to do something after that," Rowell said.
Rowell said the board is looking at the possibility of having more armed school employees. He said one idea is to have the secretaries become security officers because they are the first to see anyone coming in the front doors. He said others who might be armed won't be named so that anyone wanting to do harm in a school wouldn't know exactly who is packing.
Nancy Lofholm: 970-256-1957, [email protected] or twitter.com/nlofholm
Tiny Dove Creek becomes a model for guns in schools
By Nancy Lofholm The Denver Post The Denver Post
Posted:
DenverPost.com
In a first-of-its-kind move in Colorado, a rural school board has given two of its top administrators new job titles security officer. The new titles make it possible to bypass state gun laws and carry guns in schools.
This move in Dove Creek in the southwest corner of the state has turned the tiny town into a model for other Colorado school districts looking to get around laws that allow only peace and security officers to pack heat in schools. A legislative effort that would have changed that and put guns in the hands of Colorado schoolteachers died in committee earlier this year.
Dove Creek and the Dolores County School District RE-2 found a way to arm school officials because the district is small, can't afford to hire a security officer, and has many employees with overlapping jobs. One of the new security officers, Dolores district Superintendent Bruce Hanks, is also principal of the Dove Creek elementary school. The other new security officer, Assistant Superintendent Ty Gray, also works as principal of the high school and middle school and athletic director.
Their security officer contracts were approved by the board at a February meeting. Each will be paid $1 a year for their officer duties to make the deal legitimate.
Since the Dolores district decided to arm school officials, other districts have been calling the Dolores County Sheriff's Office for advice on how to do the same. Hanks has been traveling to other districts to talk about his new approval to carry that is predicated on an official contract with the district and a salary.
Neither Hanks nor Gray returned calls asking for comment. But Dolores County Undersheriff Tim Rowell was at the meeting when the idea was approved and said he sees it as a good solution to keeping schools safe.
"We've put a lot of thought into this. We want to do this right if we are going to be a model on this," Rowell said.
Doing it right has included fingerprinting and background checks for the administrators. Training is all that now stands between an old-school lack of firepower and having weapons in the principals' offices. Hanks and Gray must complete civilian gun-handling courses before the sheriff's office gives the final green light to carry guns.
Rowell said both have guns and are familiar with them, so the training is being done as an added layer of safety.
Many of the 700 or so residents of Dove Creek own guns and are strong supporters of Second Amendment rights. So the decision to have armed administrators has met with little to no opposition in a town most known around the state for its pinto bean crops.
"It was just kind of a nonreaction deal. Nearly everyone here has guns and hunts, so they figure this isn't a big deal," said Doug Funk, publisher of the Dove Creek Press.
Outside of the district, there has been little public comment about what is happening in Dove Creek.
The Colorado Association of School Boards has not condoned or criticized Dove Creek's unique approach to security. Association spokeswoman Kristine Woolley said the organization views it as an example of a local school board solving a local problem.
"The decision was made within the scope of the board's local authority, and the board made the decision after receiving community input. CASB was not involved in developing the policy, and it is not one of our sample policies," Woolley said.
Janelle Asmus, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Education, said that agency also won't take a stance because it is considered a matter of local control.
Dove Creek is so small it may seem an unlikely place for a school shooting. But the schools there did have a scare several years ago.
Two Dove Creek teenagers hatched a plan to shoot people in the elementary, middle and high schools, which are in two side-by-side buildings. One of the teens e-mailed a student to tell her of their plans, and that student told her parents, who reported it to police.
Law officers found the pair had stolen weapons from a grandmother's house, and they were arrested before anything happened.
"We all knew we needed to do something after that," Rowell said.
Rowell said the board is looking at the possibility of having more armed school employees. He said one idea is to have the secretaries become security officers because they are the first to see anyone coming in the front doors. He said others who might be armed won't be named so that anyone wanting to do harm in a school wouldn't know exactly who is packing.
Nancy Lofholm: 970-256-1957, [email protected] or twitter.com/nlofholm
