UPDATED: Teachers with guns? Some Ohio districts arm staff but don’t tell public
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The district, which serves Riverside, is the first in Montgomery County to assemble an “armed and trained response team,” said Superintendent Chad Wyen. But he said the district is part of an emerging trend.
“It’s way more prevalent than people realize,” Wyen said of the district’s decision to arm employees. “Sixty-three out of 88 counties in Ohio have a district with a response team.”
In southwest Ohio, Wyen has worked with Sidney City Schools in Miami County, which has a similar plan, and Georgetown Exempted Village Schools in Brown County, east of Cincinnati.
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Mad River Local Schools staff members interviewed to join the volunteer team, then attended one of two courses offering Ohio Peace Officer Training, which is the basic requirement for becoming a police officer. The team also trained at the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office gun range.
So far, Wyen said, the response has been positive. He said only one parent has called him opposed to the plan.
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