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Broward County — site of Parkland school shooting — votes to refuse money to arm school personnel

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The Florida legislature approved a package of gun-control measures, including restrictions on some gun sales and $67 million for the “Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program” to fund districts that want to arm school staff members.

Some legislators originally wanted the money to train teachers. But opposition, including from Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, led lawmakers to bar most teachers from the training; instead, other school staff members would be trained. Aaron Feis was a coach at Douglas, in Parkland, Fla., who was shot and killed while shielding students.

Leaders of most of the state’s largest school districts, including Miami-Dade County and Broward, said they were not interested in participating in the program.

The Broward County School Board made it official Tuesday night by voting against participating. Board members instead supported a proposal to redirect funding from the program to a pot of money for school resource officers, armed law enforcement personnel assigned to protect schools.