Planada community iffy on school staff carrying guns

Planada parents and community members present for a meeting on campus security this week voiced preference for updating school procedures and focusing on violence prevention rather than allowing school administrators to carry guns.

The Planada Elementary School District hosted the informational meeting Wednesday night at Cesar E. Chavez Middle School to gather community input on how the school board should act on SB 707, California’s gun-free school zone law. The law requires local school boards to either grant or deny the superintendent authority to allow personnel to carry a concealed weapon on campus.

“All we simply want from you is your voice,” Superintendent Jose Gonzalez told those in attendance. “This is a conversation.”

Gonzalez said when the board was first asked to take action on the subject in March, he heard “crickets” and board members were undecided on how to proceed.

More than 50 people attended the meeting, where parents and residents sat in groups at tables and discussed the issue. One person was designated to report on the table’s discussion and views. Most tables reported their group was undecided on the issue and wanted more information. A few tables agreed they were against it.

If approved, the policy would allow administrators to carry a gun on school grounds if they so choose. It would require such administrators to undergo a background check that goes beyond the standard LiveScan and quarterly training.

Other districts in California that allow concealed firearms on campuses include Kingsburg Joint Union High in Fresno County, Kern High School District in Kern County, Folsom Cordova in Sacramento County and Anderson Union High in Shasta County.

Planada Elementary is in an unincorporated community in the county that falls under the sheriff’s jurisdiction. Gonzalez said early research indicates sheriff’s deputies’ response times to the schools vary from 10 to 20 minutes. The district does not have a school resource officer.

The one group at Wednesday’s meeting that voiced support for allowing administrators to carry a gun were the district’s school secretaries.

“We’re also moms. As moms and employees, we are for it,” said Diana Zuniga, the secretary at the middle school. “I’d rather have it and not need it than one day need it and not have it available.”

In a survey of 35 district staff, more than 60 percent were in favor of the policy, about 25 percent were against it and 11 percent had another view, Gonzalez reported.

Though Lucinda Martinez’s group was undecided on the issue, the lifelong Planada resident personally was against it. “Nothing good comes out of a bullet,” she said.

In the six years Gonzalez has been superintendent of the district, there have been at least six campus lockdowns, he said. Most have been initiated by law enforcement. None were ordered from on-campus incidents, he said.

Gonzalez emphasized the district is nowhere near adopting any kind of policy. The district is working with a consultant to update its safety plan and will present the feedback to the full board at the next meeting on Oct. 13.

Board members David Rodriguez and Ignacio Yanez noted gang activity in the community and the Sheriff Department’s response time.

“We’re very lucky nothing has happened in Planada,” Rodriguez said about school-related shootings.

This story was originally published September 29, 2016 at 4:25 PM with the headline "Planada community iffy on school staff carrying guns."