In the recent issue of the Mirror, Mr. Mark Knapp submitted a letter calling for “the highest legislative priority ought to be to train staff in our schools to carry pistols and be prepared to respond … with deadly force in the event violent attacks occur in the schools.” (Federal Way Mirror Letters to the Editor | July 26)
The Washington State PTA each year chooses its highest priorities for legislative advocacy for our children, and Mr. Knapp left me wondering if we were missing one.
The death of any child is tragic, and violence at schools is shocking and horrific. No one would argue against reasonable steps to reduce the risk of fatal attacks at schools. But, in order to decide what steps are reasonable, we all need to begin with the facts.
The National School Safety Center has recorded school-associated violent deaths in the USA since 1992. It saddened me to learn that over the past 16 years there have been 17 of these deaths in our state. How would Mr. Knapp’s proposal address these deaths?
Of those 17 awful events, seven were suicides. It is doubtful the threat of deadly force would prevent such an event. Three deaths took place outside of school, one a drive-by shooting, one in a parking lot, one near the school. I’m not sure a staff member would have been in the vicinity of these acts. Finally, seven deaths occurred in the school, and were murder.
If Mr. Knapp’s plan were adopted, what would be the cost and risks?
Washington state has about 58,000 classroom teachers. There are also secretaries, principals, and many support staff, but for simplicity let’s just consider the teachers. The cost of one day of training for all state teachers, even at a bargain rate of $100, would be more than $5 million. Five days of firearm training for all Washington teachers would cost more than $25 million.
That’s not including the costs for the weapons and supplies, and it assumes the instructors are volunteering their time and the teachers accept minimal stipends.
Providing all state teachers one week of firearm training each year, would cost a minimum of $400 million for the 16-year period over which seven preventible deaths occurred.
But that’s just a cold calculation, and as a parent I would want the state to spend any amount of money to save my child. It’s just taxes, anyway.
The more difficult projection to make is the expected number of accidental deaths. A better researcher than I would be able to find comparable statistics, but the best I could do was the Bureau of Labor Statistics which reported an average of 18 accidental occupational firearm deaths every year in the US. Most deaths were in the national security fields and among police. Arming all Washington teachers would produce some number of accidental deaths. Would it be more or less than the number of lives saved?
It is possible that teachers with guns could save lives by using deadly force in school. It is probable that there would be accidental injuries and deaths. It is certain that there would be costs to the taxpayers.
I thank Mr. Knapp for his concern for children. The questions remain for me: How would we balance the risks and costs for our children? Where would we spend our resources? Considering, on average, every year in Washington 25 children drown.
By the way, the Washington State PTA’s highest legislative priority is for the state to provide ample resources so that all children may receive a world class education.
Mark Laurel
President, Federal Way PTSA Council
