RISING STAR, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – The school board met with parents to discuss the incident of a third grader who discovered the superintendent’s firearm in the bathroom.
In January, a third grader found a gun that the superintendent left in the bathroom at Rising Star Elementary School. The student immediately notified a teacher without touching the weapon.
Superintendent Robby Stuteville confirmed that he and the school principal open carry on campus. Stuteville said he took the gun off and placed it in a stall, where it was left unattended for around 15 minutes until located by the student.
On February 16, the school board met to discuss the incident with an open floor for parents to comment and ask questions. Parents shared many concerns; a recurring concern was why parents were not notified about the incident shortly after it occurred.
“We just wanted to know,” a parent stated.
While parents shared that they were relieved that this incident did not escalate or cause injuries, many shared they were not satisfied in how the school handled the situation. Most parents agreed that they should have been notified shortly after the incident, not weeks later from another source.
“We trust y’all, we trust the school with our kids… we don’t ever think you have any kind of malicious intent against our kids. It’s just, to be left in the dark and find out something so much later,” one parent said. “We deserve, as parents, to have that information if our children are involved.”
They requested that the school should implement a different course of action if similar scenarios occur in the future. Rumors were also spread that a teacher sent another student to see if there was an unattended firearm, something parents feel that the school should have addressed as well.
“I hope we know soon in the future what changes will be made as far as how, in a way, a gun will be carried… So you don’t have to take one off your person,” a parent added.
This meeting was more of a place to share comments and concerns, rather than the school boards response to the situation. A parent did request that the board should address this at the next scheduled school board meeting.
