Florida

Broward School Board Rejects State's Plan to Arm Staff Members

Florida's new program to arm school employees is getting stiff-armed by the board overseeing the school where a teenager with an assault rifle killed 17 people.

The Broward School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to ask the state to redirect its portion of the $67 million program to hire more police officers instead.

The Legislature named its effort to put more guns in schools the Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program, after the football coach who was among those killed at Broward's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

The program provides money for 132 hours of firearms training and a stipend for certain school employees to be prepared to shoot active shooters on campus.

Gov. Rick Scott has written superintendents saying he plans to redirect any unused money to fund school resource officers.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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