The Mat-Su School Board approved a policy change last week. The new policy will guide School Superintendent, Dr. Rani Trani, as he crafts a program that will allow certain school personnel to carry handguns in schools. KTNA’s Colleen Love has more.
The Mat-Su School Board passed an amendment, last week, to Policy 3515, which governs school safety and security. The new policy endorses authorizing certain individuals to carry concealed handguns on school property.
The policy seems to be driven by a concern over students’ safety in the schools. The measure was heavily debated by School Board Members last week during their regularly scheduled meeting.
Member, Thomas Bergey, noted that many Lower Valley schools already have trained Resource Officers (RSOs) working with the schools. The RSOs are local police officers and are paid by the District, through an Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the City.
Bergey also brought up the fact that in 2024, the Board voted down moving one of the district’s portable RSO buildings to Su-Valley High School. The intent of that measure was to provide a place for the Alaska State Troopers to stage a presence at the school, similar to the RSO presence at the Lower Valley schools. That proposal had a cost of $98,000 and had funds that were already approved for the project.
Dr. Trani responded that, what’s different with the current amendment, is that the District would be paying it’s own employees to carry concealed weapons, not supporting a program that would be staffed by the Alaska State Troopers. Dr. Trani’s administration estimates that this program will incur a one-time-cost of close to $700,000 and an additional annual cost of approximately $562,000.
But advocating for additional spending, comes shortly after a highly contentious school budget process. Citing lack of funds, the School Board shuttered three Lower Valley elementary schools, eliminated all transportation funds for school athletics and proposed eliminating nurses in the schools for the next school year.
The proposed elimination of nurses in the schools prompted the Mat-Su Health Foundation, a local non-profit organization, to provide a one-time grant to re-evaluate the nursing presence.
The public was extremely vocal during both the budget discussions and when the amendment to School Board Policy 3515 was unveiled. The proposed budget cuts, and the concealed carry policy, have both been overwhelmingly unpopular with the students, parents and school employees who testified at School Board meetings.
However, Dr. Trani stated, in last week’s meeting, that school safety is parents’ number one concern when his staff reads the annual parent surveys.
The change to School Board Policy 3515 passed 5-2, with Members Ole Larson and Thomas Bergey voting against the measure. Dr. Trani will begin the search for a Program Coordinator who can begin working on the details of the new program.
For KTNA, I’m Colleen Love
https://matsuk12.community.diligentoneplatform.com/document/aec2f68e-10bc-4c48-9d2c-66c0ba4a4d27
https://matsuk12.community.diligentoneplatform.com/document/794e43b5-43c4-4bd1-94c3-3b533594a021/
