The Garden Valley School District in rural Idaho has a new policy in place that keeps guns in its school building for staff in emergency situations.
The district, which is located in a mountain community 50 miles north of Boise, selected members of its school staff to complete firearm training with the Boise County Sheriff’s Office. Four rifles and 2,000 rounds of ammunition were purchased by the district for self-defense and signs will be posted alerting potential intruders of the guns’ presence for deterrence.
The district says it can’t afford to pay school resource officers to be present during all school hours and that the nearest police station is up to 45 minutes away, according to ktvb.com.
Garden Valley School, the district’s only K-12 school, has around 250 students. The six staff members selected to be certified to use the guns will continue weapons training four times a year with a private contractor.
Current Idaho law prohibits people from bringing guns onto school campuses.
