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Without a moment鈥檚 hesitation, ‘s superintendent John Cerna will tell you the eight schools in his rural district south of Yakima are safer than those in Seattle.

That, he told The Dori Monson Show, is because his district invests in armed school security staff 鈥� and select administrators carry guns on campus.

鈥淒efinitely, I know my schools are safer,鈥� he told Dori Monday. 鈥淚 know for a fact they are safer than in Seattle. I鈥檝e walked the schools on the west side (of the Cascades). They don鈥檛 have a police presence or a security presence.鈥�

In the wake of the Uvalde school shooting in Texas two weeks ago, debates continue on the ways schools and communities can improve school security.

Toppenish, meanwhile, has held steadfast to its Critical Incidence Response Team since 2014. That is when 鈥� under Cerna鈥檚 leadership 鈥� the district began allowing select, trained, and anonymous administrators to voluntarily carry guns on campus. Currently, there are 17 administrative staff ready to protect the district鈥檚 nearly 4,500 students in case of an attack.

“What do you say to people who say that makes a school a more dangerous place?” Dori asked.

鈥淚 get no pushback from the parents or the kids,鈥� Cerna responded. 鈥淭hey feel safe.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檝e got a lot more people supporting what we鈥檙e doing,鈥� Cerna told Dori. Any opposition he hears comes from people who 鈥渄on鈥檛 live in Toppenish.”

Even so, firearms are not the first line of defense, said Cerna. It starts with practices that are as 鈥渟imple as locking the doors, making sure your teachers (and) building personnel are trained鈥� in active shooter response, he says.

At the same time, the district spends $250,000 each year on school security personnel while gun-carrying administrators volunteer for their role. Currently, there are no trained teachers who volunteer for this role; union regulations require teachers to be paid for such a task.

Cerna has, however, received a variety of offers from people in his community 鈥渨illing to volunteer鈥� as campus security, but 鈥渨e鈥檙e not taking any volunteers at this time. They have to be people who work for the district.鈥�

“Why not just let police handle something this dangerous?” Dori asked.

“National school shooting statistics show local police response takes 12 to 14 minutes,” was Cerna’s response.

In active school shootings, 鈥渨e know the carnage is done within 5 to 10 minutes,鈥� Cerna continued. In Toppenish, 鈥渕y people will be the first responders. That鈥檚 just the way it works. . . I hope it never happens, but if it does, I know my people will go in. They will not wait.鈥�

Listen to Dori Monson weekday afternoons from noon 鈥� 3 p.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the聽podcast here.