http://www.yankton.net/articles/2013/02/05/community/doc5110877b898fe489049569.txt

YSD Officials Don’t See Local Need For ‘Sentinel’

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

Yankton School District officials are expressing their disinterest in legislation making its way through the state capitol that would allow school boards to place armed, trained personnel in school buildings.

HB 1087, which passed the House last week, says that the school board must obtain the approval of the local law enforcement official who has jurisdiction over the school campus before implementing the sentinel. In addition, any person who is hired for the position must complete a school sentinel training course and nothing in the bill authorizes any person to carry a concealed weapon without a permit.

The bill also states that any discussion by a school board regarding the program will be conducted in a closed meeting without any printed materials or record available to the public.

Both Yankton school board chairman Chris Specht and YSD Superintendent Joe Gertsema do not expect the sentinel program, should it become law, to be implemented in Yankton.

“I’m glad the Legislature chose to allow the local school boards to make the decision,” Specht said. “I can’t understand what it would be like to make the decision in a smaller community where the police force could take more than 30 minutes to get to the school in an emergency.”

Gertsema said he doesn’t anticipate the board embracing the proposed program.

“YSD has always had a good relationship with the Yankton Police Department and they have quick access to our facilities in the event of an emergency,” he said.

Specht agreed, saying he doesn’t think he’d be in favor of it in Yankton, but said local school boards can each make their own decisions.

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