The question posed at a recent San Jose candidate forum seemed so far-fetched that the room erupted with laughter. An audience member asked the panel of five City Council candidates on Monday whether they’d support arming teachers with guns.
“Teachers with guns?” District 9 contender Sabuhi Siddique asked incredulously. “Excuse me, please no.”
Her D9 opponent, former teacher Kalen Gallagher, also scoffed, calling it “a really stupid idea.” San Jose Unified School District trustee Pam Foley prompted an applause break for denouncing both the notion of gun-slinging teachers and the woman oft-described as the most reviled member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
In a heavily blue region with some of the strongest firearm laws in the nation, that’s the response one would expect. But about a week earlier, one local education official decided to brave the blowback.
Source: Facebook
On March 11, Milpitas Unified School District Board President Daniel Bobay posted an article about the whole teacher-gun thing and asked people to weigh in.
“What do you think of this? I can’t say I’m opposed to the idea, as I am a ‘gun guy,’” he wrote, “and I think with proper screening and training it may be an answer to our city who refuses to add additional resource officers.”
Unsurprisingly, that didn’t sit well with the Pomeroy Elementary School PTA, which urged parents to call Bobay as part of “National Call Out Day,” a campaign to phone legislators in support of stronger gun regulation. PTA reps also brought it up at a board meeting last week.
Bobay tells Fly that his comments were taken out of context and that the PTA’s criticism verged on slander. Besides, he says he realizes that arming K-12 teachers would never fly in left-leaning California and that he’s leaning more toward installing metal detectors at the 13 schools in his district.
As a conservative, Bobay says he’s used to the vitriol, which he says he experienced last fall by welcoming DeVos to Thomas Russell Middle School.
“When she came to our school, I saw that she didn’t want to be with the adults, she wanted to see what the kids were doing,” he says. “I came away thinking, ‘Jeez, you know, she’s not some kind of monster.’”
Several years ago, Dan posts photos of women’s behinds and makes lewd comments that would certainly get him removed from the board in today’s environment. Maybe we should post Dan’s greatest hits and see how he fares in the public eye. He is one of the reasons why Milpitas High is over crowded and why there might be metal detectors. This is a sad man who is holding on to little power that he has to abuse the system that he has no clue about. He makes asinine comments during board meetings, doesn’t support early education, and keeps ineffective superintendent around so that he can order her around.
What can one say? He is as stupid as they come, and the supporters are just as stupid. Must be the methane gas these people breath daily. Oh…do provide insight about the photos and lewd comments.
#metoo #hetoo!
Since most teacher seem to be Democrats and members of SEIU I wouldn’t trust them with a gun.
> Since most teacher seem to be Democrats and members of SEIU I wouldn’t trust them with a gun.
I wouldn’t trust them with guns OR with children OR with educating children.
Especially teachers at Milpitas. They want to get paid for every hour they work over contracted hours. They pretend to be professionals. Professionals get the job done, get paid a salary, and work regardless of hours. I bet they want to get paid for carrying a gun, to go through metal detectors, and get paid more because now their job is seen as more dangerous. Any teacher works for hourly pay has the same mindset as a fast food worker who leaves when their time is up!
Milpitas High already has police presence with guns at school. Most schools in Milpitas are wide-open. We’re a good community in Milpitas. The last few years, board, union leaders, and superintendent is pulling down the education system with their agendas that undermine education and put more resources and dollars to their pockets and projects. When was the last good news you heard about Milpitas schools? 2015? From last week’s multiple conflicting messages from the superintendent, Cheryl Jordan, to now this board member wanting to put in metal detectors and guns in our schools, I see Milpitas schools going downhill quickly with this leadership.
From my experience as a Community Service Officer for the UC Berkeley PD who has worked on the front lines of keeping the campus community safe, I believe there are better approaches than arming teachers. Our Milpitas PD has a lot of expertise in this field and I believe school safety should be built on the foundation of a strong partnership between the MUSD and public safety agencies.
-Michael Tsai
http://www.michaeltsai.org
> “Teachers with guns?” District 9 contender Sabuhi Siddique asked incredulously. “Excuse me, please no.”
> Her D9 opponent, former teacher Kalen Gallagher, also scoffed, calling it “a really stupid idea.” San Jose Unified School District trustee Pam Foley prompted an applause break for denouncing both the notion of gun-slinging teachers and the woman oft-described as the most reviled member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
For those of you who are puzzled by the recently viral “NPC meme”, here are three real world instances:
Sabuhi Siddique
Kalen Gallagher
Pam Foley
Completely programmed behavior. No capability for interactive rational process.