Brevard parents, school board members concerned with email to arm staff with guns

VIERA, Fla. - There could be more guns in Brevard Public Schools.

A new email went out to BPS staff on Friday evening, asking who wanted to volunteer for the district’s "Guardian Program," which would arm certain staff members with guns. 

The staff email was leaked to the public, and parents were concerned. On social media, many expressed concerns, saying the school board didn’t even vote to arm staff members at a public meeting.

Some school board members were also caught off guard by the staff email. FOX 35 News investigated this because rumors were growing on social media. Parents want to ensure they know what's really going on regarding their student's safety. Should there be more guns in schools to keep students safe? FOX 35 asked parents. 

"I think it’s a great idea. I think it’s a start to just keeping the kids safer," said Joseph Laughlin. 

"I would say increase the amount of security in the schools. I wouldn’t say use guns, no," said Edith Little. 

The community's already divided on the issue, but now, they’re confused. 

"This was very clearly done in a sneaky way that does not lead to transparency," said BPS parent Kelly Kervin. 

Kervin has children in the district. She’s also a school board watchdog who actively attends meetings and work sessions. She was caught off guard when she saw the staff email go out last week. The email read, "BPS is partnering with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office to bring the Guardian Program to our district." It then asks people to volunteer by May 1 if they want to be trained to carry a gun at school.

The big issue is that the school board has yet to vote on or approve starting the Guardian Program in Brevard County.

"An email going out like that without having proper conversation around it is not the appropriate way to go about it," said board member Matt Susin. 

Board member Susin says this issue is far from over, and arming staff is nowhere set in stone. 

"The viewers and the people should know what that plan is prior to us rolling it out," he said. 

The new email goes back to January when most of the school board said they wanted to learn more about the Guardian Program. They asked the district to determine how much it would cost and how it would work.

Parents are just asking for transparency when it comes to putting more guns in school and around their kids.

"It doesn’t give you warm and fuzzy feelings to know that maybe there’s going to be extra guns in your kids' school, and guess what – you’re not actually going to know who’s going to be carrying them," Kervin concluded. 

A BPS spokesperson told FOX 35 that the goal of the email was to see what staff members were interested in participating. At this time, this does not apply to teachers. They would not be allowed to carry guns on campus.  Only administrators, custodians, and non-classroom positions could be trained to carry guns in school.