CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools issued a statement Thursday saying they are opposed to arming teachers in classrooms as a means to protect students from gun violence.
That statement was released just hours before thousands of students are expected to take part in nationwide walkouts Wednesday in an effort to stop gun violence in schools.
The full statement reads:
CMS joins districts and teachers in North Carolina and across the nation in strong opposition to arming teachers in classrooms.
The voices of the vast majority of educators, families and law enforcement officials have been heard – teachers do not want to be armed, parents and students do not want guns in their classrooms and police officers do not want more guns on school campuses.
Earlier this month, Governor Roy Cooper said he thinks arming teachers is not the answer to solving gun violence in schools.
“I think it’s a bad idea,” Cooper said while touring a Charlotte manufacturing facility.
Cooper said he planned to unveil his own proposals for what to do about guns, saying that arming teachers would not be among them.
“We should keep our schools free of guns. I do not think that is a good proposal at all,” he said.
CMS announced in February that they would work in conjunction with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police to protect schools. Those changes included more intensive visitor screening, as well as developing active-shooter plans specific to each school.
“We’re going to have to rethink access to our facilities,” CMS Superintendent Dr. Clayton Wilcox added. "We’re going to have to ask people to do more than plus their license in a code reader.”