COLUMBUS, Ohio — The school shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville left many people in the country heartbroken. Three 9-year-old students and three staff members were killed on Monday.
Preventing a school tragedy is what John Scheu, superintendent of Benjamin Logan Local Schools thinks about daily.
"I am saddened, and sickened by what I have read, what I have viewed,” he said.
His district is steps away from arming staff members who complete 24 hours of required training. The state recently approved the training course that nearly 20 Benjamin Logan school employees will take part in.
Scheu said the school has already added more school resource officers, and they’re soon looking to add more security cameras and protective coating for the glass windows. Scheu said this is a layered approach.
“Our contention is to minimize the amount of carnage that an active shooter can do,” said Scheu.
The Nashville shooting just reinforces the idea that something needs to be done.
10TV spoke with Gary Sigrist, the president of CEO of Safeguard Risk Solutions.
He teaches school safety and security through his company. Sigrist said one of the most important things, next to a layered approach, like having SROs or bulletproof glass on windows, is stopping someone before they even step on school property.
"There are warning signs that families ignore. This is not a gun issue, this is not a right issue or a left issue. This is a mental health crisis in this country and we need to get those people off of the pathway to violence and get them onto a pathway of hope," Sigrist said.
These are all steps that Scheu said are necessary to keep students safe.
"No parent should have to worry about their child coming home safely and the end of the school day,” said Scheu.
There is legislation in Ohio that could add an extra layer of protection to schools.
In Gov. Mike DeWine’s budget proposal, there's legislation that will set money aside for every public and private school in the state to add an SRO. If passed, this could be in place as early as this fall.