LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- The Little Rock School District will not put armed security guards in elementary schools.
A measure was made to vote on the issue, but due to a lack of a second, the measure never came to a vote.
Currently, all Little Rock traditional high schools and three middle schools have armed school resource officers in place from LRPD. While most elementary schools have some type of security, they are not armed.
Superintendent Morris Holmes told the board in light of the events in Newtown, Conn., all of those officers should be armed. He said a poll sent out to all the elementary school principals came back with only two principals disagreeing with the measure. Holmes added more than 80 percent of polled teachers wanted armed security guards in their schools.
Board Member Greg Adams said while he understands armed guards in senior high schools, he does not believe that type of security is needed in elementary schools.
"As our students get older, there is a greater potential for our students to be involved in things that could be harmful to themselves or others, and we don't really see that same potential for elementary students. I think that is a different situation that we need to think about differently," said Adams.
Board Member Jody Carreiro agreed saying more research needed to be done to take that step.
"It's kind of a sea change, a change in the way we see things. If we do that, we need to take our time and be careful," said Carreiro.
The board did vote for unarmed security guards to be placed in all elementary schools. They also approved extra security measures for entrances.