Parkland school board votes against arming teachers

The Parkland, Fla., school district that includes Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School voted this week against arming teachers following the Feb. 14 mass shooting at the school that left 17 dead.

The Broward County Public Schools officially decided not to arm teachers or school staff on Tuesday, CBS Miami reported.

{mosads}The move comes after the Florida state legislature approved a $67 million program to arm and train school teachers. The Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program is named after a football coach who died protecting students in the shooting.

Broward County board members voted not to implement the law in their district, following in the footsteps of other Florida districts.

“I have not met one teacher or one student who is in favor of arming teachers in Broward County,” board member Laurie Levinson said.

The school board instead wants the allotted money from the bill to go toward armed school resource officers, CBS Miami reported.

“We should definitely launch a campaign to persuade the governor, for those districts who do not want to arm their employees, that they give us the money to keep kids safe in other ways,” board member Robin Bartleman said.

President Trump has been a vocal supporter of arming teachers and unveiled a school safety proposal in March that included the move.

Parkland students and teachers who survived the shooting have called Trump’s proposal a “terrible idea.”