Pike County scraps plans to allow staff to carry guns

A Kentucky school district that passed a resolution to train and arm school employees with firearms in the event of an active shooter has scrapped that plan and will instead have uniformed deputies patrolling schools.

The Pike County Sheriff's office tells WSAZ that deputies will patrol the Pike County School District's five high schools when the school year begins. They will also be checking on the elementary and middle schools.

This safety plan isn't new to the district. After the shooting at a Florida high school in February, the sheriff offered deputies to the district to monitor the schools.

School Board Chairman Justin Maynard says the school board pursued the idea of arming teachers because the district couldn't afford to pay law enforcement officers to patrol the schools. However, deputies say it will not cost the school or taxpayers any extra money.

Five deputies, who are being trained on school resource officer protocol, will be at the schools full time and pulled from daily patrols.