NIXA, Mo. -- Armed volunteers at every school in America-- that's what the National Rifle Association is calling for and at least one Ozarks school says it could work.
Right now the details haven't been laid out, and that's why there's some hesitation in Nixa. The school district already has three resource officers and will be adding a fourth one this summer, but that's one shy of where they'd like to be, an officer for every 1,000 students. So the superintendent is keeping an open mind about this recommendation.
When you're four or five, the hardest decision you should have to make all day is monkey bars or teeter totter. That's why Bonnie Bais, mother of four in the Nixa School District whose youngest Jesse is in pre-school and after school care, is so hesitant to overwhelm him. And she's worried added security could do just that.
"I guess, I don't know," Bais said. "I don't really want to take things to the extreme but I guess you never know now what's going to happen," she tells us after picking up Jesse.
While Bais is looking at the world a little differently this week, Nixa superintendent Stephen Kleinsmith is not.
"I feel no sense of fear, and I'm not going to live in fear, and I hope our community doesn't live in fear over instances of a few crazy people," he said.
Kleinsmith was an assistant superintendent in another district when Columbine happened and schools tightened security. Nixa is constantly tightening security as the budget allows.
"We're looking at everything fencing, to enhancing our security cameras, to better lighting throughout the district."
Kleinsmith says those are long-term, properly planned projects. He says anything on the federal level would need to be the same, and that includes the NRA's recommendation of armed volunteers in every school building in America.
"there needs to be a great deal of training and psychological analysis-- we get that from our school resource officers. SROs are certified and commissioned law enforcement officers, that's the degree of quality I think schools deserve," said Kleinsmith.
Bais is torn; she doesn't want Jesse to grow up in a school that feels more like a prison, but she does want him to grow up.
"You never think anything- sorry," she interrupted herself to wipe away tears, "is going to happen at the elementary school but it does, obviously."
There are seven elementaries and intermediate schools in Nixa, and right now just one resource officer floats between these buildings. One is dedicated solely to the high school, the other solely to the junior high.
The NRA will hash out the details using a team of what it calls security experts to construct a plan. Former Arkansas Representative Asa Hutchinson, who served as undersecretary of the Homeland Security Department, will lead the effort.
Critics say the NRA should be looking at ways to keep guns out of schools, not get them in.
Right now the details haven't been laid out, and that's why there's some hesitation in Nixa. The school district already has three resource officers and will be adding a fourth one this summer, but that's one shy of where they'd like to be, an officer for every 1,000 students. So the superintendent is keeping an open mind about this recommendation.
When you're four or five, the hardest decision you should have to make all day is monkey bars or teeter totter. That's why Bonnie Bais, mother of four in the Nixa School District whose youngest Jesse is in pre-school and after school care, is so hesitant to overwhelm him. And she's worried added security could do just that.
"I guess, I don't know," Bais said. "I don't really want to take things to the extreme but I guess you never know now what's going to happen," she tells us after picking up Jesse.
While Bais is looking at the world a little differently this week, Nixa superintendent Stephen Kleinsmith is not.
"I feel no sense of fear, and I'm not going to live in fear, and I hope our community doesn't live in fear over instances of a few crazy people," he said.
Kleinsmith was an assistant superintendent in another district when Columbine happened and schools tightened security. Nixa is constantly tightening security as the budget allows.
"We're looking at everything fencing, to enhancing our security cameras, to better lighting throughout the district."
Kleinsmith says those are long-term, properly planned projects. He says anything on the federal level would need to be the same, and that includes the NRA's recommendation of armed volunteers in every school building in America.
"there needs to be a great deal of training and psychological analysis-- we get that from our school resource officers. SROs are certified and commissioned law enforcement officers, that's the degree of quality I think schools deserve," said Kleinsmith.
Bais is torn; she doesn't want Jesse to grow up in a school that feels more like a prison, but she does want him to grow up.
"You never think anything- sorry," she interrupted herself to wipe away tears, "is going to happen at the elementary school but it does, obviously."
There are seven elementaries and intermediate schools in Nixa, and right now just one resource officer floats between these buildings. One is dedicated solely to the high school, the other solely to the junior high.
The NRA will hash out the details using a team of what it calls security experts to construct a plan. Former Arkansas Representative Asa Hutchinson, who served as undersecretary of the Homeland Security Department, will lead the effort.
Critics say the NRA should be looking at ways to keep guns out of schools, not get them in.
