CALHOUN, Ga. -- The Gordon County School Board voted on August 13 to accept a policy change which will allow an armed employee on staff at each of the county's high schools.
"I am pleased with this decision made by our Board of Education," said Gordon County Sheriff Mitch Ralston. "The protection, safety and security of our children is our highest priority. I look forward to another successful school year, and to continuing the mutually beneficial partnership that we enjoy with the Board and the School System."
The policy says that "any personnel who are designated to carry or possess a weapon on campus would have to be licensed by the state to carry that weapon and deemed to be well-trained and highly qualified" by the Gordon County Sheriff's Office as well as the Gordon County Schools.
"Safety of our students and employees is our first priority, and we are grateful to Sheriff Ralston and his staff for the time, resources and expertise they have provided to help us with a viable solution for keeping schools as safe as possible," said Gordon Schools Superintendent Dr. Susan Remillard.
Shortly after the deadly Stoneman Douglas High School shootings in Parkland, Fla., last February, President Donald Trump proposed arming some teachers and staff in schools across the nation as a measure to help protect schools. The president's controversial proposal has been met with both support and criticism across the country.
With the policy change, Gordon County joins several other municipalities in Georgia that are arming school personnel. Laurens County agreed in April to arm teachers, while Fannin County voted to do the same in May 2018. In early August, the Fayette County School Board voted to place a long rifle in every middle and high school in the county, accessible only to the school's resource officer.
