SHELBY – School shootings were at the forefront of conversation at the Shelby Board of Education meeting on Monday evening.
With the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida less than two weeks in the past, members of the community were concerned about student safety in Shelby.
It was on the mind of Superintendent Tim Tarvin as well when discussing the proposed pre-K through eighth grade building that Shelby will vote on during the May 8 election. The 4.6-mill bond issue would cost the taxpayers approximately $18.9 million over 34 years.
“I think any school that’s going to be built in this age, and this has been going on for some time now, we talk about those things,” Tarvin said. “When we design the building, we’ll have the opportunity to use new security features that haven’t been available in the past, and we’ll certainly take full advantage of that.”
Tarvin debuted two new architectural renderings of the proposed athletic stadium that will be part of the May 8 bond issue. The $5 million stadium would be located at the north end of the school campus, where the track currently resides, and include a new restroom facility. Plans have not been started yet for the proposed pre-K through eighth grade building.
One community member at Monday’s meeting questioned whether the new building would have glass classroom walls similar to the ones in the current high school building.
“The glass is laminated; there are two panes of glass with a laminated layer in-between, so if it was shot through, it won’t just shatter,” explained Scott Harvey, director of building maintenance, grounds, and safety.
“You’d have to sit and shoot in the pattern of a circle to knock that glass out,” Harvey continued. “By that time, with our floor plans, we’re out of there. It’s not like they can shoot one shot and they’re into those classrooms.”
Another community member, Steve McLaughlin, echoed a sentiment repeated by the president and suggested arming teachers. McLaughlin is the current city councilman at-large and is a former member of the Shelby Board of Education.
“Back in 2013 as a school board member, I proposed selective arming of our staff, of which the board did not support at that time,” said McLaughlin, who has two children that attend Shelby City Schools. “I feel we need to revisit the issue at this time.
“Gun-free zones do not work, they are dangerous. We need to protect our children by doing something that makes sense.”
Meanwhile, Shelby High School Principal John Gies is working on the antidote to these conversations. Talks of walkouts and student protests have swirled about the school, and Gies wants to refocus on something within control.
“The gun stuff, that’s an argument that students may not be able to have as much influence on,” Gies said. “A little better influence we could have is how we treat each other, and maybe avoid some of the issues we have.”
Gies approached advisers of the Student Council, the GOLD program and the Interact program to propose a “kindness week,” a way to focus on something good in a bad situation. So far, the response has been positive.
“We’re trying to come up with some things we can do in the month of March to show kindness towards each other,” Gies said.
