SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — A nonprofit's report on arming school resource officers is at the forefront of the upcoming Spokane School Board election.
Nikki Lockwood and Katey Treloar are the two candidates vying for position one on the Spokane School Board and they’re approaching the issue with different mindsets.
Earlier this year, Michael Dorn of Safe Havens International, a nonprofit campus safety organization that has been working with the district, spoke to the sitting school board and pointed out that no other school district of similar size was without an armed guard.
Treloar recently created a list of questions she wants to be discussed before any decision is made. She’s confident this will peel things back and give everyone a better understanding before diving into a commitment.
“Then we need to look at why is Spokane Public Schools the only school in the area without an armed resource officer,” Treloar said. “Is that the best practice? I don’t know, but I want to know and I think that why we need to bring together our school, our teachers our staff and our students.”
Nikki Lockwood isn’t sold on the idea of arming resource officers. In a statement, Lockwood touches on the worries of parents concerned with suicide rates and behavioral issues as issues that need to be prioritized.
“To arm or not to arm is a very simplified way of reducing the conversation around safety. I believe the community highly values the safety of our children and safety means different things to different people," Lockwood said.
The school board said they are currently in the process of assessing the recommendations provided by the Safe Havens Report and a decision won’t be made until the new school board is in place.
The general election will be Tuesday, Nov. 5.