CMSD NEWS BUREAU

6/16/2022

In a unanimous vote, the Board of Education has declared that it will not let teachers and other District employees carry guns on school property.

Under state legislation signed into law Monday, school districts may let employees carry guns at school after completing 24 hours of initial instruction and eight hours of annual training. Previously, the employees had to successfully complete basic peace office training of more than 600 hours.

The school board could have simply declined to exercise its right of approval but decided to make its position known with a resolution that was approved Tuesday.

The resolution says the District believes that “the presence of undertrained or improperly trained persons armed with firearms in our schools would create a dangerous environment in our schools and threaten the lives and safety of students and staff.”

"I have a daughter who goes to a CMSD school,” board member Kathleen C. Valdez said before the vote. “I can’t imagine her being at a school where all her teachers were armed. Teachers are not meant to be armed; they are meant to teach.”

The only CMSD employees who carry guns are mobile patrol officers who travel throughout the District.

To watch video of the full board meeting, go here. To read the board resolution, go here.