Superintendent Resigns After Third Grader Finds His Gun in School Bathroom
Both he and the school principal had open carry permits on campus.
A school superintendent in Rising Star, Texas, has resigned a month after an incident where he left his gun unattended in a bathroom. Robby Stuteville worked at the Rising Star Independent School District for over 30 years, and acted as superintendent for two years before this recent matter ended his career. "Rising Star lost a good person," says high school principal Monty Jones. "He was a heck of a superintendent." Here's what happened, and why the school tried to downplay the incident.
Gun Was Unattended For 15 Minutes
Before resigning, Stuteville gave a frank account of what happened to local media outlets. He admits leaving his gun unattended in a school bathroom for 15 minutes on January 20 before a third-grader found it and alerted another teacher. "There was never a danger other than the obvious," Stuteville told KTAB and KRBC.
Open Carry Permits On Campus
Stuteville and Principal Jones both had open carry permits, which they felt was necessary to prevent a potential school shooting incident. "If we are going to take care of our kids and make them feel safe, we have to do it in house," Jones said. "What if they pick us next?"
A Learning Experience About Gun Safety
Stuteville initially tried to chalk the whole thing up to a learning experience. "This is one of those examples of guns in schools," he said. "Regardless of who takes responsibility, they are a considerable danger and one should school their child to be on the lookout for any unusual placement of a weapon or anything out of place."
Upset About Resignation
Jones is clearly upset by Stuteville's resignation, calling it "a sad situation" even though he admits leaving the gun in the bathroom was a "grave mistake." "Rising Star lost a good person," Jones said. "He was a heck of a superintendent."
Parents Are Upset They Weren't Notified
Parents were upset they weren't notified about the incident shortly after it happened, having to hear about it from secondary sources. "We just wanted to know," one parent stated. "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," another said. "We deserve, as parents, to have that information if our children are involved."
