By KAYLA DEMICCO
Opinion Editor
In the beginning of the year, many problems arose when guns were able to get into school buildings. One would hope that because of these problems, the government would create laws and set restrictions to make sure that guns don’t enter schools.
However, Betsy DeVos, Education Secretary, is considering to alter the Department of Education’s budget so that federal funding can go towards teachers getting guns. To make this happen, DeVos wants over $1 billion set aside to make this possible.
This is not the first time that DeVos has made a suggestion to put guns in schools. In 2017, PolitiFact reported that DeVos thought that “some K-12 schools may decide they need a gun on campus — to protect themselves from bear attacks.”
Ironically, the Department of Education released results of a survey in May of this year through the National Center for Education Statistics to find out how much money public school teachers spend out of pocket for classroom supplies each year. The survey is called “The Teacher Questionnaire” and it was given out as part of the 2015-2016 National Teacher and Principal Survey. Results from this survey show statistics from K-12 schools, principal and teachers from all around the country.
The survey found that 94 percent of all public school teachers spent their own money in order to get classroom supplies and they did not get any reimbursement whatsoever.
The report finds that the type of community that the school is in does not affect these teachers. Over 90 percent of teachers from city, suburban, town, and rural schools each spend out of pocket money.
The money that would be spent on something that isn’t needed, could be used to prevent teachers from going broke.
In the 2013-2014 school year, the National Center for Education Statistics found that 8.7 percent of public high schools used a metal detector at least once. As someone who went to a high school where every student had to walk through a metal detector, get wanded down, and have their bag checked, that percentage is surprisingly low.
Allowing guns in classrooms could not be a worse idea. Guns are not to be around young kids. There have been instances where children have accidentally came across a gun, it went off, and people have gotten hurt in the instance.
The National Center for Education Statistics found that 79 percent of public schools have reported one or more incidents of violence, theft, or other crimes during the 2015-2016 school year. That percentage could only increase if guns were allowed in school.
DeVos said that the $1 billion would be for “school safety” but it is probably one of the most unsafe ideas one could have, for the students and financially unsafe.
Fortunately, on September 1, the New York Post reported that Devos has “no intention of taking any action regarding any possible use of federal funds to arm teachers or provide them with firearms training.”
“It would be up to Congress, not the U.S. Department of Education, to place any restrictions or barriers to use those funds for purposes not currently in the law, a department spokeswoman said.”
