Kent is a small town. Like other small towns, it doesn't have a police force. Residents rely on state troopers.
That's part of the reason why Selectman Jeffrey Parkin wants to arm school personnel. He said it could be the difference between life and death if someone walks into a school and starts shooting.
"Whenever police respond to an event, the response time is minutes," Parkin told WNPR. "And the actions that can take place in those precious minutes are really when most of the damage can be done."
According to Parkin, arming school personnel could help, if they're properly trained. The program he'd like the school board to consider is called FASTER Saves Lives. It's a free three-day training program.
Parkin said that’s enough to give school personnel the skills they need to use a gun to defend themselves and students. "The training is intense, it is rigorous," he said. "And look at the alternative. The alternative is -- think of Columbine, think about Sandy Hook."
But is the free three-day training enough? The average duration of a police academy is 18 weeks, and that excludes any field training or college work that some states require.
Even if they're adequately trained, is arming teachers a good idea?
"Arming school personnel is a high-risk, high liability proposition," said Ken Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services of Cleveland.
"Our teachers and school support staff are education professionals," he said, "and to task them with the responsibility of carrying a firearm and being responsible of performing a public safety function crosses the line into the professional discipline of school-based policing and law enforcement."
Parkin noted that the armed personnel didn't have to be teachers, but it could be volunteers who don't work at the school.
After the Newtown shootings in 2012, at least 33 states -- including Connecticut -- introduced legislation to allow school personnel to carry firearms. Only a handful were ever signed into law, though at least seven states have enacted legislation easing restrictions on firearms on school grounds since 2013, according to the Council of State Governments.
Prior to 2013, 18 states allowed adults with guns on school grounds, and by 2014, a total of 28 states began allowing it, according to a report by News21. Connecticut ended up going in a different direction, and has passed several laws dealing with school safety, mental health, and gun control since the Newtown shooting.
Kent First Selectman Bruce Adams was the only selectman to vote against bringing the proposal to arm teachers to the school board. He declined to comment for this story.
Selectman Parkin said he's asked the Kent school board to hear the idea at one of its March meetings. School board Chairman Paul Cortese said the board will discuss the matter if they decide to do so.
When asked how the Kent community has responded to the idea of arming teachers, Cortese said the reactions have been mixed. "Most of the queries from parents are queries of concern," he said.
Diane Orson and Ross Levin contributed to this report.
