Eilbes said the decision was made by Steve Hancock, the head of school, after conferring over the past year with members of the school’s board of trustees, legal and insurance consultants, security experts and local police. Asked whether parents were consulted, Eilbes said there wasn’t any “formalized” outreach.
“We didn’t want to run the risk of the rumor mill,” Eilbes said. “Ultimately, we really wanted to play into the fact that families do give us a lot of leeway. They have a trust in us as a school.”
In a letter to families, Hancock said the move was a response to “the devastating rise in school shootings nationwide.”
“Through extensive analysis and thorough research, along with a strong recommendation from the River Hills Police Department, the unanimous recommendation was to arm a small number of school safety officers,” Hancock wrote.