One Spokane Public Schools officer will carry gun

Just one school security guard will be allowed to carry a gun inside Spokane schools – the downtown-stationed supervisor who travels the district visiting schools. There is no timeline as to when other school resource officers assigned to specific schools will be armed. School officials announced at tonight’s school board meeting that the downtown-stationed school resource officer, Mark Howard, will be armed on district property within the next few weeks. District officials agreed in early 2013 to allow district-employed school resource officers to carry guns in schools. Making it happen has been arduous. First, a deal needed to be struck with the Spokane Police Department to train and authorize the men and women to carry firearms. The district and department finalized a three-year agreement in July. District employees will receive training through the department, but they need to also become a reserve officer, the contract states. The instruction also will include case law, patrol procedures, crisis intervention and require 24 hours of additional training each year. Yet not all school resource officers are certain they want to carry guns, at least not at their current pay. The union representing the officers tried to strike a deal. However, negotiations between the union and district leadership has been at a standstill for months. If no agreement can be reached within a reasonable time, the district superintendent is considering going the same direction as most school districts around the country. Like Mead, Central Valley and many other school districts, Superintendent Shelley Redinger will consider contracting with a police agency, she said. “We are in the minority,” not having armed officers in the schools, she said. “It’s not unusual.”