The Des Moines School Board Tuesday night approved a resolution that calls on Congress to pass gun control legislation.
The resolution also asks members of Congress not to approve money for arming teachers and school employees. Instead they want federal funds for counseling students, including money for psychologists, and social workers.
Here's the text of the resolution:
A TIME FOR ACTION TO PREVENT SCHOOL MASS SHOOTINGS
The Superintendent of the Des Moines Independent Community School District presents the following Resolution for adoption:
WHEREAS, there is a need for the nation’s major city school systems to express their positions on school safety matters that affect its students and the children residing in its cities; and
WHEREAS, Des Moines students have joined their peers across the country in publicly expressing concern for their safety and well-being and the need for policymakers to act immediately to protect them in school and beyond; and
WHEREAS, the leaders of the nation’s major city public school systems respect the concerns of our students, and support their growing civic and social participation inspired by recent tragic events; and
WHEREAS, since the school shooting in Columbine in 1999, there have been numerous other school mass shootings, including those in Red Lake (MN), Lancaster (PA), Blacksburg (VA), Chardon (OH), Sandy Hook (CT), Broward County (FL), in addition to many other school shootings across the country that have taken scores of young lives; and
WHEREAS, too many young people are shot and killed on the streets of our cities almost every day; and
WHEREAS, teachers are not trained law enforcement officers, and should not be asked or expected to keep weapons accessible in their classrooms; and
WHEREAS, there is no reason based on any viable research to suggest that adding guns into a school setting or arming teachers would prevent these acts of violence; and
WHEREAS, schools across the country need considerable additional resources to plan for the possibility of such acts of violence, coordinate with law enforcement, and secure their buildings from intruders; and
WHEREAS, the safety and security of students and staff is a top priority for Des Moines Public Schools as the district has invested millions of dollars on secure entrances and classroom doors, video and other monitoring systems, school resource officers and security staff, and more; and
WHEREAS, no amount of expenditures on school safety and security will prevent significant harm and loss of life from school attacks by individuals armed with semi-automatic weapons like those used at Sandy Hook, Broward County, and other mass murder sites; and
WHEREAS, schools across the country also need additional resources to support counselors, psychologists, and social workers to identify and work with students showing signs of mental illness; and
WHEREAS, the nation’s data collection on gun violence and gun ownership is inadequate to monitor, understand, or prevent these events from happening; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Des Moines Independent Community School District joins with the other 69 members of the Council of the Great City Schools in calling for comprehensive legislation to address gun violence and school safety; and
WHEREAS, the multiple school shootings that the nation has witnessed over the years have complex causes requiring multiple solutions; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of the Des Moines Independent Community School District, stands with the students of Broward County Public Schools and the nation in demanding effective and comprehensive action from the federal government to protect schoolchildren; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of the Des Moines Independent Community School District calls on the U.S. Congress to ban the manufacture, sale, purchase, possession, and use of assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition cartridges, except those needed by the military and law enforcement; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of the Des Moines Independent Community School District calls on the Congress of the United States to require and strengthen universal background checks to possess any type of firearm; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of the Des Moines Independent Community School District calls on the President of the United States to charge all agencies of the federal government with the task of reducing the number of gun-related injuries and deaths in America; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of the Des Moines Independent Community School District is opposed to the arming of teachers to protect schools and children; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of the Des Moines Independent Community School District calls on the Congress of the United States to extend the perimeter of Gun-Free School Zones; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of the Des Moines Independent Community School District calls on the Congress of the United States to appropriate adequate new funds to increase the numbers of counselors, mental health staff, psychologists, and social workers in our schools; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of the Des Moines Independent Community School District calls on the Congress of the United States to appropriate adequate new funds for programs to educate students and their families on the risks of firearms; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of the Des Moines Independent Community School District calls on the Congress of the United States to require that states and the federal government collect whatever data necessary to track, monitor, understand, and prevent the extent of gun violence in America; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Superintendent is hereby directed to forward copies of this Resolution to Senator Charles Grassley, Senator Joni Ernst, Congressman David Young, and to those members of the Iowa General Assembly who represent the Des Moines Independent Community School District, and to the Council of the Great City Schools.
Teree Caldwell-JohnsonChair – Board of DirectorsDes Moines Public Schools
Dr. Thomas AhartSuperintendentDes Moines Public Schools