Fayette County School Superintendent Manny Caulk on has announced a community effort to insure Lexington schools are safe.
That includes exploring all options, although he didn’t endorse arming teachers, an effort floated in the General Assembly.
Penny Christian attend Caulk’s press conference as a representative of the PTA. She says most teachers, including her own daughter, are drawn to the profession because they want to help kids not to be armed guards.
“If I use my daughter, let’s say she saw that kid in class the day before, and they come walking through her door with a gun, is she going to be able to pull that trigger and put a bullet in that kids head? She can’t.”
Christian said she has a child in middle school and that its students are living under the threat of violence.
Caulk says a committee of more than two dozen community leaders, including high school students, will be exploring ways to improve school safety over the next five weeks. Portable metal detectors will be made available to high schools, he said, the idea of permanent metal detectors will also be discussed.
Mayor Jim Gray said it’s important that all ideas are fully explored, including metal detectors.
“There are lots of different points of view on this but if the advisory council determines that is what is needed to keep schools safe, I will ask the city council to help fund the proposal.”
Although some safety measure like requiring all school visitors to present a photo ID, will be implemented immediately. The advisory panel hopes to have recommendations in place before the end of the General Assembly in case renewed safety measures require changes to state law.
