Against the backdrop of ongoing national anxiety over school gun violence, the Rappahannock County School Board spent more than 30 minutes Tuesday debating whether a concealed carry class belongs on a public school campus — particularly one tied financially to a local political party.

Community members and board members alike questioned the optics of hosting a July 16 permit course at Rappahannock County High School in which $10 of the cost of the class goes to the Rappahannock County Republican Committee. Concerns ranged from troubling optics to political neutrality and potential legal liability if the event were denied. In the end, the board agreed to send the matter to legal counsel for review.

“Not only will the school be hosting a partisan event, the partisan committee will be benefiting financially from that event,” said Emily Lock, co-chair of the Rappahannock Democratic Committee, one of half a dozen community members who spoke during public comment. 

The class, scheduled to be given in the school auditorium, was organized by the Rappahannock County Republican Committee, which rented the space and is bringing in Defensive Tactics of Virginia, a Virginia Beach company, to teach a concealed handgun permit course. No real firearms will be present — the class uses simulated training weapons only. 

The event drew significant online debate last week after advertisements circulated publicly, with most criticism centering not on the class content itself but on the $10-per-ticket donation being directed back to the Republican committee. GOP chair Ron Frazier responded to Facebook comments saying the donation helps offset costs.

“The money isn’t going to the GOP. $10.00 of every $90.00 enrollment fee goes to the local GOP Committee. The local Committee has some costs with putting on the Class,” Frazier wrote. “It is Public Safety training. And besides that, every member of the local GOP already supports the school with their hard earned tax dollars.”

At Tuesday’s meeting, Superintendent Shannon Grimsley walked the board through why the application to use the school as the venue was approved. The division’s current policy, she said, is “very open” — written to keep the school system content-neutral and to accommodate a rural community with few large venues. Renting the space, she said, carries no endorsement from the school or its officials, and nonprofits of all kinds — including political organizations — have previously used school facilities.

“You have what is called a limited open public forum policy … it is very open to community groups, nonprofits, all different types of groups,” she said. “So we can’t really have an opinion about it, as long as it does not violate a School Board policy.”

Grimsley said the $10 donation never appeared on the GOP’s rental application — it only showed up in the vendor’s own advertisements. She said she would bring the question to the district’s attorneys and reach out to the GOP to see if it would be willing to move the event to another location.

‘It looks bad’

Board members raised a range of concerns. Member Rachel Bynum questioned whether the event fit the school’s mission, particularly given the school’s loss of a student to a gun accident last year. She also took issue with the class being marketed partly as a way to get “insulation from Virginia’s progressive anti-2A push,” a reference to Virginia’s sweeping package of new gun control legislation in the last year. 

“If I had a kid in school, I would feel it was a violation of the way that I want people to think about coming to school,” Bynum said. 

Member Lynnie Genho echoed that concern. “To me it’s a political issue,” she said. “They’ve turned it into a political issue.”

Member Chris Ubben argued that concealed carry instruction is fundamentally gun safety training and asked if the class would be held when no students were present at the school. He also cautioned that denying the application at this stage could expose the district to legal liability. 

“If we deny them permission to use it at this point, can we be sued?” he asked. Grimsley nodded yes.

But Ubben was equally blunt about the donation arrangement, questioning how a vendor could decide to kick back proceeds to a political party without disclosing it on the application.

“The vendor sure is making it look awful bad,” he said. “I don’t think guns are political … I think whoever’s holding it sure makes it appear that way … It looks bad.”

Ron Makela addressed the School Board Tuesday, urging them not to allow an upcoming conceal carry class to take place at the school Makela grew teary-eyed as he talked about a friend of his son, Emily Hilscher, a Rappahannock native that was killed in the 2007 Virginia Tech mass shooting. (Photo/Luke Christopher)

Mixed public comments

During public comment, several residents weighed in on the issue. Betsy Dietel urged the board to steer clear of anything divisive. 

“I want to strongly urge you all to keep our schools out of anything that can be perceived as partisan,” she said.

Ron Makela, Jackson district, grew teary-eyed recounting the killing of Rappahannock native Emily Hilscher — a friend of his son — who was the first victim in the 2007 Virginia Tech mass shooting. He urged the board to deny the request outright. 

“They have a right to have their class in the county. There are many venues, we have seven volunteer fire departments,” he said. “To hold an event in this building would be just wrong on so many levels.”

But not everyone opposed the event. Christine Smith, former Piedmont Supervisor, spoke in support of the class, saying the applicants followed the rules and the training fills a real need. “You’re not advocating violence, you’re advocating the opposite of violence, you’re advocating education, safety and an informed populace,” she said.

Christine Smith, former Piedmont Supervisor, spoke in favor of the class. “You’re not advocating violence, you’re advocating the opposite of violence, you’re advocating education, safety and an informed populace,” she said. (Photo/Luke Christopher)