St. George, Utah (KuTV) — Washington County was the first school district in the state to reopen schools, and the newly passed Guardian Bill was also adopted early there.

In February, the Guardian Bill was passed. It requires every school with more than 100 students to have an armed volunteer guard on site at all times.

In Washington County, these supervisors are not teachers but other school personnel such as janitors or cafeteria workers.

The law would not have to take effect until next year, but Steven Dunham of the Washington County School District said they will not wait.

“We really wanted to be ahead of the curve,” Dunham said.

The bill will be introduced in three phases.

“Our first phase is to identify the guards in each of our buildings. Once that’s done, we move on to phase two, which is mental health screening of all of those guards. Phase three is training,” Dunham said.

Dunham said they have already identified several guardians.

“We already have guards working in our building who are currently volunteering, completing training and preparing for the official launch next year,” Dunham said.

Washington County Sheriff Nate Brooksby said finding the right people to fill the guardianship role is paramount to the program’s success.

“We need to make sure that they are not only physically able, but mentally stable and able to represent the district and the schools and perform their security duties,” Brooksby said.

In addition, they complete numerous mandatory training courses, including initial training as well as annual and bi-annual training.

“The state just released its curriculum, so there will be uniformity across the country,” Brooksby said.

These include training in de-escalation, coordination with police, basic trauma first aid, firearm safety and storage, mental illness, disability awareness, and live-action exercise plans for responding to active threats.

The Sheriff’s Department has also created a new training sergeant position to lead training efforts in Washington County. Sergeant Dusty Kilpack has been appointed to the position.

“Kilpack is really off to a good start and it seems like the collaboration with the school district has been phenomenal. We both agree that this is a good program and we want to see it succeed in Washington County,” Brooksby said.

Many mothers in Washington County also want this program to be successful.

Tami DeLeeuw, a St. George mother and member of her school’s parent council, said she supports the Guardian program if it means more safety for her children and more peace of mind for her.

“You wonder if you can send them out today and not see them at the end of the day,” DeLeeuw said.

She said the threat of violence is constantly on her mind. For her, arming school staff is a logical step to ensure the safety of students.

“I think it’s great that they are allowed to carry weapons. Personally, I feel that if they get the right training and the right skills, there is no reason why they shouldn’t learn this skill in school. I feel like my children are better protected,” Deeleuw said.

Deneigh Candland has children who attend Hurricane schools. She said the children are aware of the risk of violence in schools and that can be troubling.

“We have a child with anxiety, so we talk about it. We hope it doesn’t happen in our area and that our children are protected at school,” Candland said.

Candland and DeLeeuw both agreed that they would have no problem with the presence of an armed guardian at the school as long as the guardian was kept informed of changes and progress in the program.

“What will it look like for my children? How much will my children know? How much will I know? How will my children really be protected?” Candland asked.

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The guardians remain anonymous and are known only to select members of the school district, the police and the school administration.

The guards also do not receive a salary for their role. They receive a $500 stipend that they can use to purchase a firearm if they do not already own one.

Guards use their own 9mm pistol or other approved weapon as determined by the Chief of State Security. Their weapon must be concealed at all times.

When asked about parents who don’t see more guns in schools as a good thing, Brooksby replied, “Unfortunately, we have to fight each other with equal weapons. We live in a society where the one with the biggest gun wins. So you have to give them the opportunity to fight back… this program gives someone a chance.”

Dunham responded to the same question: “It’s not about more guns, it’s about having the right people with the right training to protect our children. That’s what this bill is about. Keeping those children safe in an emergency.”

Utah has seen a few incidents involving guns in schools over the past decade, but there has never been a mass shooting.

The goal of the Guardian program is to keep that number at zero.

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