School superintendent resigns after third-grader found his gun in a bathroom stall
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- A Texas superintendent has resigned after his gun was found in a school bathroom by a student.
- The third grader who found the gun reportedly did not touch it, and no one was hurt in the incident.
- Parents were not informed of the January incident until a February 16 school board meeting.
The superintendent of Texas' Rising Star Independent School District has resigned after a third grader found his gun in a school bathroom, the district board of trustees has announced.
Superintendent Robby Stuteville's gun was found in January after he began carrying a handgun on campus in accordance with state law, per The Washington Post. Jones carried weapons on campus because of school shootings that have occurred across the country, said a colleague.
However, parents were not informed of the incident — in which no one was hurt — until a February 16 school board meeting, with the Post saying many parents were dismayed they weren't alerted sooner.
Announcing Stuteville's resignation on Thursday, the school board said: "The past is history which cannot be changed. We learn from the past and go forward. Today we are weathering the storms from past decisions. We are striving to make sure that our children are educated in a safe, loving, healthy, and secure environment."
Speaking to local station KTAB, Monty Jones — principal and now acting superintendent — said that a third grader saw the gun and ran to their teacher to report the firearm. They say they did not touch the gun. The fire was left unattended for 15 minutes, said Jones.
Jones told KTAB that "I can't say what was going through his mind, but I know him. I've known him for years, and this is a horrible mistake. And he feels gutted by it."
The prevalence of guns in schools has been in the spotlight since the tragic Uvalde school shooting in Texas, where 21 people, including 19 children, were killed in May 2022.
Since then, there have been 31 school shootings, according to data from Education Week.