On the heels of the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, an eastern Kentucky fiscal court has allotted nearly $500,000 for additional school resource officers.
Morgan County Fiscal Court recently approved a payment of $480,000 to the school district, Judge-Executive Will Stacy told the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Fiscal courts in Kentucky do not normally supply school districts with money for law enforcement.
The county of approximately 13,000 residents currently has one resource officer each at the high school and middle school but none at the county’s four elementary schools, as is true in Grayson County. The money will allow the Morgan County School District to provide two resource officers at each of its school campuses.
“It’s not the only answer, but it’s doing something. We’re gonna do what we can do,” Stacy told the newspaper. “We can’t sit here anymore and expect somebody from Washington to come and protect our children.”
The General Assembly during its latest session approved House Bill 63, which requires school districts to have a minimum of one school resource officer at each campus.
Since 1990, there have been seven gun-related incidents at Kentucky schools:
- February 2, 2022 in Russellville, Kentucky
Two windows at Logan County Community Technology Center were shot out. There were no students or staff in the building at the time the shots were fired.[246]
- August 27, 2021 in Owensboro, Kentucky
A man was shot during an argument in the parking lot of Apollo High School shortly after the end of a football game. The man was expected to survive at the time of the shooting.[247]
- March 29, 2021 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky
A gun in a student’s backpack at Hopkins High School went off. No one was injured.[248]
- January 23, 2018 in Benton, Kentucky
A student at Marshall County High School fired a handgun inside a crowded atrium until he ran out of ammunition and then fled before being arrested. Two students were killed and 18 other students were injured.[249]
- September 30, 2014 in Louisville, Kentucky
A student at Fern Creek Traditional High School fired one shot into the hallway, injuring one person. Authorities said the suspected shooter was a 15 to 16 year-old black male.[250]
- December 1, 1997 in West Paducah, Kentucky
Michael Carneal, 14, opened fire at Heath High School on a group of praying students. Three female students were killed and five other students injured. It was suspected that Carneal had been bullied. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.[251]
- January 18, 1993 in Grayson, Kentucky
Gary Scott Pennington, 17, fatally shot his East Carter High School teacher after she refused to change a grade. A social studies teacher and the head custodian entered the classroom to investigate. Pennington shot and killed the head custodian. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.[252]
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
