COLUMBUS, Ohio — As some Ohio school districts wrap up the first school year with armed staff members on campus, the state of Ohio is investing further into training to prepare them for active shooter scenarios.
The state is putting about $78,000 towards purchasing Mobile Modular Shoot Houses from a North Carolina based company, Kontek Industries.
The Ohio School Safety Center plans to have them ready by this summer to be part of the mandatory scenario-based training for armed staff members, to simulate what an active shooter situation could look like.
Sixty-seven districts in 36 Ohio counties have armed staff on site, including Benjamin Logan Local Schools in central Ohio.
“We want this to be a deterrent for an active shooter and we feel very confident that we have put everything possible in place to make it as safe as possible for students and staff,” said Superintendent Jon Scheu.
The district has 17 staff members trained to be part of the armed response team across its three buildings. Their identities are kept confidential, but they include people in different positions including administrators, teachers, secretaries and custodians.
The district is located in rural Logan County, and Scheu said it could take 10 to 15 minutes for sheriff’s deputies to respond to an emergency. Scheu said the armed response team could begin to mitigate a threat as they wait for law enforcement to arrive.
“When you are talking 10 to 15 minutes, I mean that sounds like not maybe that great of time that law enforcement would arrive, but these active shooters, it takes a matter of seconds and they have done enough carnage to shock the world and it is all the essence of time,” said Scheu.
Staff members in the program are required to complete a 24-hour training course, and an eight hour refresher each year.
Scheu is looking forward to having more staff members trained over the summer, including with the new mobile shoot houses.
“I think that any time you can have training that will simulate as near as the reality of the matter is important. I think the more training the teachers and armed response team members have, the better, and just bringing something like that to the forefront to make it as realistic as possible, only helps the situation,” he said.
The following Ohio school districts have armed staff:
- Adams County Christian School
- Knox County Career Center Schools
- Antwerp Local Schools
- Licking County Christian Academy
- Barnesville Exempted Village School District
- Mad River Local School District
- Bellaire Local Schools
- Madison Local Schools
- Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Local School District
- Manchester Local School District
- Belmont Harrison JVSD
- Mansfield Christian School
- Benjamin Logan Local Schools
- Maplewood Career Center
- Bridgeport Exempted Village School District
- Mars Hill Academy
- Bright Local School District
- Martins Ferry City School District
- Caldwell Exempted Village School District
- Miami Valley Career Technology Center
- Calvary Christian School
- Morgan Local School District
- Carrollton Exempted Village School District
- New Lebanon Local School District
- Clay Local School District
- Newcomerstown Exempted Village School District
- Claymont City
- Noble Local School District
- Clinton-Massie Local Schools
- Ohio High Point Career Center
- East Guernsey Local Schools
- Old Fort Local Schools
- Eastern Local Schools District
- Parma City Schools
- Edgerton Local Schools
- River Valley Local Schools
- Edison Local School District
- Rolling Hills Local School District
- Fairlawn Local School District
- Russia Local School
- Fort Loramie Local Schools
- Sidney City Schools
- Gallipolis City School District
- Southern Ohio Educational Service Center
- Garaway Local Schools
- St. Clairsville-Richland City Schools
- Geneva Academy
- St. Mary's City Schools
- Hardin-Houston School
- Streetsboro City Schools
- Highland Local Schools
- Switzerland of Ohio Local School District
- Indian Creek Local School District
- The Greater Dayton School
- Indian Lake Local Schools
- Tri-Valley Local School District
- Jackson Center Schools
- Trumbull Career and Technical Center
- Jefferson County Educational Service Center
- Tuscarawas Valley Local School District
- Jefferson County Joint Vocational School
- Upper Scioto Valley
- Kenton City Schools
- Warren Local School District
- Kirkmont Presbyterian Church/ Preschool
- Wheelersburg Local School District
- Williamsburg Local School District