LITTLE CYPRESS, Texas — Little Cypress-Mauriceville Consolidated Independent School District is putting safety first with their Guardian Program.
The program allows teachers and staff to carry concealed weapons.
Superintendent Stacey Brister says this is the district's answer to tighter safety requirements placed on Texas schools after the 2022 Uvalde shooting.
Brister tells 12News there are at least 15 staff members in the Guardian Program.
"We would rather have that program up front even though it's expensive and save lives versus not having it and loss lives," said Brister.
The recently launched Guardian Program allows staff members to carry concealed guns across Little Cypress-Mauriceville CISD campuses.
"We have a large array of former officers and military personnel," said District Police Chief Michael Hennigan.
Hennigan says the program has given his department a second set of eyes and hands.
"It puts us at ease because we know until we get there we have the campus covered. So that eases the burden on our hearts,' Hennigan said.
Britser tells 12News that this is the district's form of "a good cause exception" after the State of Texas mandated tighter restrictions on school safety.
"The law said you had to have a police officer, at the time we didn't have that. So we went with the exception which said you have to have armed personnel on a campus. But it was very broad with how you would address that," said Brister.
In an October Facebook post, the district announced the program.
Cody Knott, a parent, says he's all for it.
"I personally can't speak for other parents but I know my wife and I we are comfortable with it because we trust the teachers that are there. We know a lot of them and we are comfortable with knowing our son is protected," Knott said.
"I'm so in love with our community right now because they fell in with this," Hennigan told 12News.
For parents that may be one the fence, Hennigan wants you to know that not just any teacher can decide to start bringing a gun to school one day.
"It's just not a one-step process and boom you're a Guardian. There a lot more to it, a lot of training and annual and semi-annual firearms qualifications as well as in class safety," said Hennigan.
Hennigan says the men and women use their own guns with ammunition provided by the district.
Brister says they also receive a stipend that comes out of the district's budget.