A Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School teenage student’s arrest Tuesday on charges of bringing an airsoft gun to school has some in the community concerned.
A GoFundMe petition calling for weapons screening machines in all middle and high school has garnered 331 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon.
According to the petition, a group of parents joined together this month to ask the school district to do “more to protect students against the real threat of weapons on school campuses.”
The petitioners noted, “We understand that this is not an ultimate solution but still an important step in making campuses safer.”
During his weekly meeting with the press, County Executive Marc Elrich said he had been disappointed to learn that a Montgomery County Police officer was not in Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School at the time of Tuesday’s incident.
When school resource officers were removed from the school, Elrich said he signed a Memorandum of Understanding that a police officer would have office space in a school and be free to roam the hallways before and after school and during lunch.
That program called the police officers Student Engagement Officers.
That has since changed, Elrich said, explaining that now it is up to the principal as to whether an officer is inside the school.
“I’m a little unhappy with the current situation,” he said, adding, “I was a little irritated to find out the agreement we got worked out had been changed.”
According to Dr. Earl Stoddard, assistant county chief administrative officer, school officials currently are talking about making the policy more consistent.
Elrich said he did not support the former school resource officers’ program, explaining, “They were misused by school administrators to enforce discipline.”
As for metal detectors, Elrich said, “They are not cheap.” He also noted, “You have to talk about where to put them.” However, he added, he was not against them.
He would like to see students remain in school all day, noting that some students do not return to their classes after going out for lunch.
The student arrested this week for bringing a weapon to Bethesda-Chevy Chase had been in the school in the morning but had left before the school went into lockdown. He was arrested at a nearby residence.
Bethesda-Chevy Chase principal sent an email to the school community following the incident.
MCM reached out to Montgomery County Public Schools for a comment but has not yet received a response.
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