Lumberton ISD board seeks more information about gun proposal

By DAVID LISENBY/The Silsbee Bee -

Lumberton schools board members have decided to take a second look at a proposal that would allow concealed weapons on campuses in the district.

Read more in the September 16 edition of The Silsbee Bee. 

As reported first by The Silsbee Bee on Friday morning, Board Member Peter Morrison presented a proposal to the board that suggested that those with concealed weapons licenses be allowed to carry guns legally on campus. Those wanting to carry guns on campus would first have to be approved by Superintendent Ron Sims. Morrison told the board that the proposal was due to safety concerns that arose when there were hit lists discovered at Lumberton schools in the recent past.

He said that the Harrold ISD school board unanimously passed a similar resolution in August 2008. The school district is in a rural community in North Texas which, according to the 2000 census, has a population of 320 people. There is one school in the district which has has 123 students and 13 teachers. According to published reports, law enforcement response time to that campus is as much as 15 minutes. According to Lumberton Police Chief Danny Sullins, response time to any campus in Lumberton is no more than two to five minutes.

Board Members Julie Walker and David Maniscalco spoke against the proposal. Maniscalco said he is an avid hunter and gun collector and is about to test for his concealed handgun permit. But he says that this proposal would "open a whole can of worms that we shouldn't open."

After a short discussion by the board, Board Member Jeff Rhea said no other discussion was necessary because he would not vote for the proposal. He said that the idea was not one he would even consider. Board Member Kenny Burkhalter said before there was a vote he would like for Chief Sullins to come before the board to provide his professional opinion. Board President Margaret Cruse asked if there were enough board members who felt that further discussion was necessary. Morrison, Burkhalter and Glenn said that they were in favor of Dr. Sims doing more research into the proposal and having Sullins give his professional advice. Walker agreed that there could be further discussion although she did not feel that her opinion would change. The proposal will be placed on a future agenda.

"My basic feeling right now is, of course, that I am opposed to it. But I am always open to hear new ideas and see what the chief of police thinks about it," said Cruse. "He guides our area of safety, so I would be interested to see what he has to say before I make a decision. Right now my gut feeling is that this is way out there."

Cruse spent many years in the education field before she was elected to the board. 

"As a former principal," she said, "I would not want guns on my campus. I can think of when I was a principal if that were to happen, with young children always pilfering and plundering, I shudder to think about it.
"I cannot imagine guns in the classroom."

KFDM News spoke with Chief Sullins by phone for more reaction to the story reported by The Silsbee Bee.

"We're equipped to handle a situation like that and we are trained to handle a situation like that," said Chief Sullins.  "We wouldn't want something bad to happen to a person on campus, an officer or a suspect.  If we were confronted with someone with a gun and didn't know if it was the suspect, we might have to end up shooting that person and that would be unfortunate."