Pendleton School Board members couldnt stomach the idea of guns on campus.

Monday, the board rejected a change in policy recommended by the Oregon School Boards Association that would allow anyone with a concealed-weapon permit to carry a firearm on school grounds.

Pendletons current policy allows only weapons carried by law enforcement officers.

I want people to feel safe on campus, but I dont want them packing guns, said board member Dave Krumbein.

Superintendent Jon Peterson said he certainly wouldnt want a teacher to have a gun in a school desk.

Oregon School Board Association spokesman Lonn Hoklin, however, said its recommended language reflects current Oregon law. The recommended policy, actually small changes to existing policy, came out in February, just before the Oregon Senate on March 1 rejected Senate Bill 1594, which would have banned firearms on public school and university campuses. The vote was 15 to 14, with all Republican senators voting no, including Sen. David Nelson of Pendleton.

As a result, concealed and permitted guns remain legal on public campuses around Oregon, although they still cannot be carried openly in public buildings. To obtain a concealed-weapon permit, the applicant must be at least 21 years old, a citizen or legal resident alien, have no felony or misdemeanor convictions or outstanding warrants for their arrest and be competent with a handgun.

Hoklin said school boards have no legal obligation to use recommended policy language. School boards in Oregon may individually elect to ban concealed weapons from campus.

We are not a regulatory agency, he said. We provide model language that school boards may or may not accept.

Pendleton chose not to accept. Since the decision didnt involve changing anything, the board simply took a consensus and moved on.

Pendleton School District Assistant Superintendent Tricia Baker, who regularly peruses the state association policy suggestions, echoed board members aversion to the idea of concealed weapons at school.

We are erring on the side of caution for students, Baker said. Were always going to pick student safety.

Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts would not comment on the idea of allowing concealed weapons on campus. But, he said, concealed weapons on campus could cause confusion and danger.

Police officers have no way of knowing if a gun-wielding person is licensed, he said. We have to think of that individual as an imminent threat.

Imagine, he said, that someone at a school football game calls 9-1-1 to report a fight in progress. Officers arrive to find someone with a gun intervening in the fight.

Now, all of a sudden, you have a good Samaritan who thinks theyre doing the right thing by brandishing a firearm, Roberts said. We have to change our tactics. Its going to be a force-on-force scenario.

They think they are doing the right thing when, in reality, theyre compounding the situation.

The banning of concealed weapons on campus is an ongoing question. In 2007, South Medford High School teacher Shirley Katz fought for the right to carry her 9mm Glock to work. The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld the school district decision to bar concealed weapons on campus.

The issue of guns on school campuses is an old, old one, Hoklin said. Its been around a long time.

Pendleton is far from the only district wrestling with the suggested language. The Umatilla School Board has already imposed a zero-weapons policy and prefers to keep it that way. In April it tabled a vote on the associations recommended policy change until it could hear more from the association. Umatilla School Superintendent Heidi Sipe said that discussion made the choice for the board pretty clear.

Adopting the policy would be akin to inviting someone with a gun to campus, she said. The Umatilla board is scheduled Thursday to consider the policy recommendation.

According to THE state association, its recommended wording notifies individuals of their right to carry concealed weapons on school grounds. It further explains that individual districts should contact their insurance carrier and consult regarding the inclusion of this language as a liability for the district.

Sen. Nelson believes the issue of concealed guns in schools will return to the Legislature. He said the vote in March was more of a muscle-flexing affair, a political contest between anti-gun folks and gun folks. It was agreed between both sides that there would be no gun legislation during the short session.

When SB 1594 showed up, Nelson said he voted no simply to protest, deciding the issue needed more discussion than the short session would allow.

Im sure its going to come back in 2013, he said.

Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0810.