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Flagler County schools to consider allowing teachers, staff to be armed on campus

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FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — The Flagler County School Board plans to vote on Tuesday on whether to allow workers to be armed on campus.

The district initially looked at two models for what’s known as “the Guardian Program.” The first was to arm teachers and the other was to hire uniformed personnel to carry guns on campus.

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Under state law, the sheriff’s office is responsible for coming up with procedures and training school staff to carry on campus. Educators who participate are anonymous to keep them from becoming a target.

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said he supports this program, but worries there could be issues identifying teachers during a crisis.

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“I support a guardian program as a supplement to school resource deputies, not to replace them,” Staly said.

There is already a school resource officer at every campus in the county and two at the high schools. But Staly said with a growing population and more problems in schools, those officers need support.

If the school board gives the guardian program the greenlight Tuesday night, the sheriff’s office will apply for a state grant.

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The school district estimates it will cost roughly $100,000 to train and qualify 15 employees. So far, more than 100 have expressed interest in becoming guardians.

District Safety Specialist Tommy Wooleyhan said those staff members would be anonymous to their colleagues and students. He said only a few people would know which staff members are armed, including him, the superintendent, and sheriff’s office personnel.

But, Staly worries that part of the plan could create some issues in a crisis.

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“How do my responding deputies identify who is a guardian and who is not? And how secure can we keep that information so that somebody can’t be a fake guardian and use that as part of their tactic?” he said.

The official vote will happen Tuesday, though school leaders said the board seems to be in favor of the program.

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Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson, WFTV.com

Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.

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