This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
The St. Vrain Valley School District and the Boulder County Sheriff's Office are looking for community input regarding a proposed pilot program that would store a long range rifle inside a safe located at both Niwot High School and Lyons Middle/High School.
Two meetings will be held: one on Tuesday, June 5th starting at 6 p.m. at Lyons Middle/High School library and another on Thursday, June 7th from 6 to 7 p.m. at Sunset Middle School in Longmont. Both are open to the public.
Boulder County Sheriff's Office reached out to the school district and asked them to consider the proposal given what they described as having a "distance factor", said Don Haddad, superintendent of the St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD), in a phone call with the Longmont Observer.
"They believe that it would provide them with an added important tool in the event that they have to respond to any type of crisis situation involving weapons," said Haddad.
Haddad stated that "a number of years ago", the Boulder County Sheriff's Office had brought the same proposal forward and "the board at that time said no."
"This year they [Boulder County Sheriff's Office] brought it forward and the board is having more conversations around it and gathering more feedback," continued Haddad.
The pilot program's goal is to "reduce time and reduce injuries" in the case of an active shooter event by providing the School's Resource Officer (SRO) with faster access to a more powerful gun: an AR-15.
The rifle would be stored in a safe at both schools and would only be used and accessed by a School Resource Officer (SRO). SROs are Boulder County Sheriff Deputies that have been assigned to a specific school; both schools currently have an SRO.
Mariana Vasquez, a Senior in the fall at Niwot High School, said that she "wouldn't really think about it unless we knew we were in an emergency situation in which we might need it."
"But otherwise if I knew that there was no real use for it or if we weren't actually in danger, I don't think I would be too concerned about it," continued Vasquez.
In the event of an active shooter, Boulder County Sheriff's current response time to Niwot is about ten minutes and about 15 minutes to get to Lyons, said Robert Sullenberger, Division Chief of the Boulder County Sheriff's office, in a phone call with the Longmont Observer.
"We've seen the increase in the number of high school shootings nationwide. With the use of a rifle, or a long gun, it is easier and more accurate to take a shot to neutralize the threat at more of a distance versus a handgun where outside of about 25 yards the accuracy goes down dramatically. The sooner we can address the threat, neutralize the threat, the safer people will be," said Sullenberger.
All of the SROs currently have an AR-15 in their patrol vehicle, but in order to retrieve that rifle if a threat does happen, SRO's currently have to "run back out to the parking lot, get the rifle, run back in, and then try to reacquire where the suspect is, which is time," said Sullenberger.
"That's what we are trying to do, is reduce time, reduce injuries."
When asked if there had been any threats at these schools that prompted the pilot program, Sullenberger replied, "no."
However, Sullenberger stated that "it's possible" that if the pilot is successful, other schools in SVVSD may see the program implemented.
"I know this is a hot-button issue in the political world, truly our whole desire is to save kids lives in the event that we got an active shooter at a school campus," stated Sullenberger. "The sooner we can neutralize that, the more lives are saved. And that's the only purpose behind this."
Public Safety Chief Mike Butler in an email to the Longmont Observer, when asked their thoughts on this development said "Longmont Public Safety is still evaluating. We’ve identified some potential advantages and disadvantages. One of our options is to keep an AR-15 type rifle in our cars while parked close to the school building."
Depending on how much feedback the school district receives, more community meetings may be scheduled for the fall, said Haddad.
"This is not a done deal," said Haddad. "The board hasn't made any decisions. They are just weighing the information that was presented to them, gathering feedback from teachers, staff, students, parents, and community members."
June 6, 2018 Update: Lance Cayko, a Rally For Our Rights contributor, responded to our request for comment with the following statement: "Several members of the local grassroots organization, Rally For Our Rights, are planning to attend the meeting at Sunset Middle School. This organization believes that allowing the rifles in Lyons and Niwot high schools is a step in the right direction but will be urging the SVVSD to look into other measures such as those offered by FASTER Colorado, a non-profit organization that offers free and low cost tactical, trauma, and concealment training for school staff members who volunteer to be armed and are approved by their school boards. This would turn willing teachers into first responders on their K-12 Campus."
Here is the complete letter that Don Haddad sent to parents via email:
Dear Niwot Community,
Thank you for your continued support of the teachers, staff and students who make St. Vrain Valley Schools such an outstanding environment for our children to thrive. This past year was truly remarkable with incredible growth in student achievement and many state recognitions for athletics, the arts and other co-curricular programs.
As we prioritize continuous improvement in academic achievement and student engagement, we also look for ways to enhance and secure our learning environments. Toward this end, we have scheduled a meeting with the Niwot Feeder Community to gather input on a proposal from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office related to school safety. In their proposal, the Sheriff’s Office is asking St. Vrain to approve piloting a program that would allow them to securely store a long range rifle inside Niwot High School’s main office in a locked safe. In regards to their proposal, they believe strongly that this will facilitate a better response time to an incident and provide the School Resource Officer with an important additional resource.
Please Join Us: Thursday, June 7 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. at Sunset Middle School
We understand how important these conversations are; therefore, we want to receive input from our community before the Board of Education makes a decision related to this request. Our highest priority is ensuring the safety and well-being of our students, and believe that our families and law enforcement partners are essential to keeping everyone in our community safe.
I look forward to our meeting on Thursday, June 7, and again, thank you for your dedication to our students, teachers, staff and community.
Sincerely,
Don Haddad, Ed.D.
Superintendent, St. Vrain Valley Schools
