Mike Gundy tells Stillwater schools he'll do 'whatever it takes' to help make schools safer
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy told the Stillwater school district that he’s willing to put his money where his mouth is when it comes to school safety.
Gundy told the district’s Board of Education Wednesday night that he’ll do “whatever it takes” to help make the schools in the area safer.
“Do we have a plan and are our schools safe?” Gundy asked the board.
When a member responded that it’s a priority, Gundy continued, noting that he has children in the school district and citing his recruiting experiences traveling the country and visiting schools.
“Do we have people in our schools to protect our kids? What is the answer if someone comes into our schools … and who’s responsible for that?”
There was no concrete plan given to Gundy in response to his question. After noting that places like airports, jewelry stores and other businesses have security, he volunteered to pay for things if budget “was an issue.”
Budget is an issue in Oklahoma. The state’s teachers are some of the most underpaid in the nation and it’s likely Oklahoma teachers will go on strike later this spring after seeing the success of the efforts of West Virginia’s teachers’ strike. Per the Oklahoman, those budget issues and the teachers’ strike was the original topic of the meeting, and Gundy notes in the video that he believes the state’s teachers are underpaid and overworked.
“I’m willing to do whatever. I’ll do whatever it takes to get it started,” Gundy said. “I know these things take time … I don’t think we have time. I’m saying fast, like two weeks. Like yesterday. And I don’t mean this in a bad way but hopefully we get this worked out with the teachers and we finish the school year and we do things like we’re capable of doing and hopefully everybody comes together and works out.
“But if not, I would like to see this be put in place and until we can factor in a budget for the next year I’m willing to foot the bill for the rest of the school year if we can protect our kids.”
A security guard was on duty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the shooting there on Feb. 14. The guard didn’t go into the school to engage shooter Nikolas Cruz, who was armed with semi-automatic weapons.
After a brief flirtation with Tennessee during the Volunteers’ ridiculous offseason coaching search, Gundy got a contract extension from Oklahoma State. The new contract pays him $4.2 million a year, so he’s more than able to finance a security plan if it works out.
Oklahoma’s Education Association is asking for $800 million in funding for schools, many of which have been forced to go to four-day weeks because of a lack of money. Cuts to Oklahoma school funding over the past 10 years have reportedly been the biggest of any state in the country.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
Follow @NickBromberg on Twitter
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