Paying for school guards

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Re "NRA calls for armed police officer in every school" (Tribune, Dec. 22):

The idea put forth by the National Rifle Association to station armed guards in our schools could be part, but only a part, of the solution. At a minimum, school guards must be trained and certified peace officers working in pairs. This would not come cheap.

There are about 100,000 public schools in the country. If we stationed an average of two guards at each school, each making $50,000 a year in wages and benefits, we're looking at about $12 billion annually.

I propose we create a Federal School Guard Trust Fund that, by law, is not to be used for any other purpose. The trust fund's revenue would come from special excise taxes on gun manufacturers and all sales of guns and ammo.

Patrick T. McGann

Moab