A failed firearm test and questions about mental health: Inside arming teachers at Madison

“We had one teacher, didn’t know what was going on, he locked his doors. He didn’t know if it was a group of armed people or what. He’s a coach. He passed out his duffel bags. Said kids, if someone comes through this door, I’ll protect you at all cost. And he gave them baseball bats. That’s all he had in his control. That’s it.”

- David French, school board member at Madison Schools, during a sworn deposition in January.

“I can remember thinking to myself, you know, here I am, the only thing standing between these kids, and I really just had a textbook in my hands. And I just was, like, this is not a fair fight.” 

- Madison school employee, now authorized to carry a gun at school, during a sworn deposition in January.   

“My daughter told me that in an ALICE training drill, her teacher’s plan was to take the bullet from the intruder while throwing a stapler at the intruder. That was all she had. And that to me is just reprehensible that we are going to expect these adults to die for our kids, but that we don’t allow them the same right that the state of Ohio and the United States allows them everywhere else.” 

- Paul Jennewine, school board member at Madison Schools, during a sworn deposition in January.

...

It’s easy to forget what happened in Madison Township. The blood on the cafeteria floor, the police dogs, and the line of cars outside the school full of parents worried about their kids.

Support local journalism:Only $3 for 3 months

It’s been more than three years since a student brought a gun into the lunchroom and shot two other boys. There have been other school shootings since then, and many children have died. Teachers have died, too.

But for those who live or work in the small Butler County community, like the three people quoted above, what happened in 2016 is never too far from mind. And it continues to have an impact on how the school is run.

Both students who were shot no longer attend Madison Schools. One left because his family didn’t feel supported. The other left because of the school’s decision to allow staff to carry guns.

That decision, made last summer, led to a lawsuit about how much training school employees really need before they could bring a gun to school. Backed by a national gun control advocacy group, it seemed like a last resort at stopping the school from arming staff. 

Walkouts:Student shot at Madison Schools gets detention for school-shooting protest

Lawsuit:Firefighter who rushed to Madison school shooting now among those suing school district

The lawsuit is over; the school won. A handful of employees are authorized to carry weapons during school and other school events. 

Throughout the legal process, teachers, school board members and the superintendent gave sworn testimony. An Enquirer review of hours of those depositions and hundreds of court documents found discrepancies in what school officials told the public and what they actually did.

Here’s what we learned:

Questions about mental health 

During training required by the school, one of the Madison staff members failed a handgun qualification test twice, according to court documents. The test measured shooting accuracy.

The staff member passed it on his third try and was approved to conceal carry at the school.

Each employee who wanted to be armed also underwent mental health evaluations and background checks. These evaluations happened after the employees completed a 27-hour training course, which the district spent $3,000 on in total.

But district officials told community members interviews and mental health evaluations were to be conducted before making a decision about training, according to a letter the district sent out last year.

Officials defended this discrepancy, and others such as the amount of times staff would be interviewed, by saying the letter was sent out before their policy was finalized. They said they were trying to be as transparent as possible.

Lawyers fighting the school district suggested the mental health evaluations were nothing more than a box for the school to check. These lawyers questioned officials about the evaluations and the ability of certain employees to handle stress. But responses to those questions, and many of the questions themselves, were redacted.

A school shooter, in his own words:'I wasn't wanted by anyone'

Superintendent Lisa Tuttle-Huff did not return a message seeking comment. One of the school's attorneys, Brodi Conover, said he could not answer specific questions about the mental health evaluations because of a court order.

"But if the board had concerns with anyone, they wouldn't have authorized them," he said.

In testimony, school officials said employees were recommended unanimously by a safety committee made up of the superintendent and at least two board members. Court documents, however, reveal officials kept virtually no documentation of the interview process and couldn’t agree who was on the committee that interviewed staff who wanted to be armed. 

Because of a court order restricting access, The Enquirer was unable to review the mental health evaluations independently and most of the questions about them.

The reason for that court order is the school wants to protect details of its security plan and the identity of staff who have been authorized to carry weapons. School officials say the release of their identities would make them targets and compromise their safety. 

They say the mere existence of their policy is a deterrent to potential violence at Madison.

‘Fake news’

School board member Pete Robinson called the lawsuit fake news on Facebook. He was asked why in his deposition.

“How this whole lawsuit came about had nothing to do with armed staff, nothing at all,” Robinson said. “That’s why.”

#MohawkStrong:The untold story behind Madison's school shooting

He said the lawsuit started because parents were upset officials disciplined their children for walking out of school as part of a national demonstration after the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

“This all started out as a First Amendment thing, and then it sailed into outlaw the AR-15, and then it went into how dare you talk about arming staff,” he said. “That’s where it all came from. And if the people who started all of this were honest, that’s where it came from.”

Robinson went on to say the lawsuit was politically motivated, specifically by the grandparent of a student who opposed President Donald Trump. That grandparent is not part of this lawsuit.

More:Grandfather confronts Madison school board, police escort him out.

An attorney asked Robinson if he believed the parents who sued the school are worried about the safety of their children.

“Me personally, no.”

Staff are not expected to engage a shooter

Authorized employees aren’t required to carry their gun every day, and officials won’t know when they are – unless there is an incident.

Likewise, the superintendent and other officials testified if an employee hears a commotion outside his classroom, the employee is not supposed to go outside and pursue a shooter. Employees are told to be defensive, officials said, only using their gun in a life or death situation to protect their area. 

One board member said an employee would have his authorization revoked for pursuing an attacker.

But this is not documented anywhere in the school’s firearm policy, and one employee testified he would engage an attacker in precisely that manner. He also said he had never been told not to.

Teachers felt helpless 

All staff who now carry were at the school shooting in 2016. 

Madison student:'My school had a shooting; this is why I risked detention to walk out.'

One teacher had students eating lunch at the time. He was about 200 yards away in his classroom with a student for lunch detention. He heard the shooting, locked the doors and turned off the lights. He and his student hid for 3.5 hours until the lockdown was lifted.

One employee testified: “All I could think of was that I have 25 other lives behind me and what I am supposed to do with a book? And that’s when I started thinking that I would love, if ever the laws changed, at that point that I would be interested in carrying in the classroom."

The board members who approved the policy also were deeply affected by the shooting.

“I’m sorry but it is personal. I have a niece that was involved. And all she could think of is the kids … She hid them in the corner and put her body in front of the door,” said Board President David French. “She … was willing to put her unarmed life on the line.”

​​​​​​​This weekly column is a look around Butler and Warren counties from Enquirer Reporter Keith BieryGolick. Send tips, questions and hate mail to kbierygolick@enquirer.com.