ALTOONA, Ala. - About the time that National Rifle Association executive Wayne LaPierre stood near the U.S. Capitol and called for armed guards at every school in the U.S., the city council in this northeastern Alabama town were already one step ahead.
The Gadsden Times reports that the Altoona council will cover the salary of a school officer for West End Elementary School when classes resume Jan. 3. Mayor Rick Nash said it is the right thing to do. Nash did not say how much the city will spend on the post.
Currently, West End and a second elementary school share an Etowah County sheriff's deputy assigned primarily to West End High School.
The decision comes a week after 20 students were fatally shot at a Connecticut elementary school.