Posted on 03/26/2013 5:47:25 PM PDT by Bob Mc
Levelland I.S.D. approves concealed carry on campus
By Alex Zielinski - email
LEVELLAND, TX (KCBD) -
Levelland ISD is joining the list of campuses in Texas allowing teachers to carry on campus.
Last Thursday the school board voted to hire two additional police resource officers and allow teachers with their concealed handgun license to carry on campus.
The district says the process to hire additional resource officers will begin immediately and Superintendent Kelly Baggett says there are still some issues that need to be ironed out.
"Right after school gets out, I need to know how many teachers are planning to get their CHL so I can start working with the board to decide who will be allowed to carry and who needs to get training this summer," he said.
Even though he is excited and proud of the school district for making this decision, Baggett says he still has reservations about the situation.
"I don't know if this is a good option," he said. "I have a CHL. It's good to have. I hope I never have to use it, and I hope we never have to pull out those weapons in any form or fashion. That's the biggest fear I have."
"I never thought in my 42-year career that we would be to the point of allowing weapons on campus other than via law enforcement officials."
If everything is approved by the state, teachers with their CHL may begin bringing weapons into the classroom at the beginning of the next school year. Baggett says he is still waiting to hear from state legislature for guidelines the district needs to meet, as well as if they will receive funding to train a certain number of teachers. However, employees can begin applying for their license as soon as they want.
Junior Kain Alexander and sophomore Tyler Hastings attend Levelland High School. They say that having teachers who have guns on campus brings them an extra sense of security and will deter possible shooters.
"I honestly think it's good, you know?" said Hastings. "I feel a little bit more safe with the teachers having guns. It's better than some stranger walking in and having one."
"I think every school should implement it, because just the idea of having a teacher with a gun - I mean if somebody wants to come in and shoot the school up, they're going to have that thought in the back of their head: this teacher may have a gun in the classroom," said Alexander. He added that the idea hasn't been debated in classes, but he and his friends have talked about it for a long time and the majority of them love the idea.
"We're for the idea. We're in Levelland, Texas. We're familiar with guns, so we like the idea."
We also spoke with a Levelland ISD teacher who asked to remain anonymous. She said she want to get a CHL because she believes it will increase school safety.
Old Joke:
How flat is it out in West Texas?
It is so flat, that on a clear day,
when you look out ahead of you, as far as you can,
you can see the back of your own head.
Mrs. VR-21 was born in Levelland (raised in Sundown), and yes, you're right the entire county is so flat that there isn't one single bridge. That's the panhandle though (the Llano Estacado), and I swear you could go 100 mph on one of those highways and feel like your doing 40. You can literally see the horizon in every direction. However, further west in Texas lies the Trans-Pecos region where I'm from (El Paso). It's mountainous.
Some of the best bbq in Texas can be had in Levelland at Richard’s.
What's between West Texas and the North Pole?
About two dozen strands of barbed wire.
Levelland...one of James McMurty’s best: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-D824LHti4
To borrow the old saying: You don’t have to outrun a bear, you only have to outrun the person next to you.
Likewise, once a few schools start arming-up, the neighboring schools will be forced to do it, and it will be like a waterfall. Kind of like CSCOPE, but for the better instead.
I always heard it as:
What’s between West Texas and the North Pole?
A barbed wire fence; and it’s down.
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