As of Saturday, Barton Community College and other Kansas colleges won’t be able to ban “concealed carry” weapons on campus. A draft of a new weapons policy was discussed at Tuesday’s BCC Board of Trustees meeting.
“There’s been quite a lot of hand-wringing,” Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman noted. The fact that Kansas colleges won’t be gun-free zones after Saturday has made national news. But for Barton officials, it is time to comply with a new mandate.
“It is set to go in place,” Heilman said. “We will be moving forward.”
The policy being looked at by trustees is still just a draft, but it has been legally reviewed. The college is also looking at the impact the changes will have on the budget; Heilman estimates it will cost Barton $45,000.
Vice President of Administration Mark Dean said the college has seven security people on campus and all with have the choice of whether or not to be armed. People hired to those positions in the future will be required to carry a weapon. The cost to the college to arm all seven security officers is estimated at $20,000.
Sample wording
A notice contained in the draft policy states:
“Any report of weapons being openly displayed on Barton’s campus will be responded to by the Campus Safety Department and the Barton County Sheriff’s Office. The lawful carrying of a concealed handgun should not create concerns on campus; however, anything other than the lawful carrying of a concealed handgun has the potential to create confusion and additional risks and will be responded to by Campus Safety and the Barton County Sheriff’s Office.
“It is the responsibility of the individual choosing to concealed carry to be aware of both federal and individual state laws regarding the concealed carry of weapons into other jurisdictions that they may travel to. There are significant differences in laws between Kansas and other jurisdictions.”
To view the complete draft of the weapons policy online, see http://docs.bartonccc.edu/trustees/meetings/fy1617/201706/1160-Weapons.pdf
Other business:
The board also met in executive session for 15 minutes to discuss a personnel matter.
In other action, the board:
• Accepted the bid from Dissenger Reed to provide general athletic and catastrophic insurance, for $55,566 for the 2017-18 academic year.
• Approved the annual payment of $161,028 to KanREN for internet service for fiscal year 2018.
• Approved the following personnel: Mark Ricketts, academic advisor at the Educational Opportunity Center; Andres Rodriguez, custodian; Matt Mazouch, instructor of Career Technical Education Correction (Corrections) at Larned; Angelina Morgan, administrative assistant (Academic Division/MEES/Life Science); Aimee Burr, part-time English instructor; Joel Prickett, head softball coach; Shelah Coleman, administrative assistant at Grandview Plaza; Takesha Watson, assistant women’s basketball coach; Mark’Quis Frazier, assistant track and cross country coach; and Colby Crank, assistant wrestling coach.
This story was updated on June 29, 2017, to correct the cost of arming security officers. The cost to the college would be $20,000 total, not per employee as previously reported.
