Wayne La Pierre, CEO of the National Rifle Association, spoke out about his organization’s efforts in strengthening security at schools, just days after 19 children were killed and two teachers were murdered in Uvalde Texas. He called schoolchildren “our most precious and treasured resource”, and they should be protected and safe.
LaPierre stated that the NRA created the School Shield program to promote and finance the security that every child in school deserves.
In reality, however, only a small portion of the NRA’s budget has been dedicated to schools. According to a NBC News review of tax filings from charitable organizations and information from the Second Amendment, the total amount of NRA funds that have been given to schools for security improvements since 2014 is less than 2 million. This represents.08% of the $2.2Billion in revenue that the NRA and associated foundation have raised during the same period.
Andrew Arulanandam, spokesperson for the NRA, stated that since 2019, no money has been granted by the NRA to schools to improve safety. The NRA’s website to provide School Shield grant information has been inactive since then. This encourages schools who need funding to send email addresses to receive updates on grant programs. An adjunct instructor at the NRA stated that the School Shield office was closed in March 2020, and that all three employees were “furloughed.” Grants and training activities have not resumed.
The 1-800 number for School Shield was not reached to return a voicemail regarding funding opportunities.
Arulanandam stated in an email that NRA “anticipates giving approximately. For 2022, $500,000 in grants
NBC News was told by a former adviser to the NRA that many former employees of the NRA were shocked that LaPierre chose not to highlight the program after Uvalde.
“It’s total bulls —,” said the former NRA adviser who chose not to be identified for fear of legal action. “I thought we were doing something positive. They were never interested in it.”
Arulanandam, spokesperson for NRA, stated that the emphasis on grants to schools is not sufficient to consider the program’s effect through the training of “security assessors” at schools.
NRA School Shield assessors teach school staff and law enforcement how to evaluate the school’s safety and make recommendations on ways to improve it.
Arulanandam stated that School Shield’s true value lies in the school assessors it trains and the schools they can reach.
Arulanandam didn’t respond to a request to determine how many trainings were provided and how much money was spent by the NRA/its foundation. However, a part-time adjunct NRA instructor stated that he had done at least 60 trainings in the 27 states before 2020.
Arulanandam stated that remote or in-person NRA School Shield training sessions were impossible in the past two year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
After 20 children and six teachers were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, 2012, the NRA created the School Shield initiative. LaPierre drafted Asa Houtchinson, a Republican member in the U.S. House, to head a task force that would produce a report on ways to make schools safer.
Hutchinson recommended the creation of an online school safety evaluation tool and a model safety training program. The report also recommended that the NRA support the National School Shield initiative as an “umbrella, national organization to advocate for and support school safety.”
LaPierre stated that School Shield will include everything from armed security to building design, access control, and information technology, as well as teacher and student training.
According to his spokesperson, Hutchinson quit the School Shield effort less than a year later. The spokesperson refused to answer questions regarding the NRA School Shield grant program. Instead, he stated that the task force was independent from the NRA, and there was no guarantee that the NRA would accept all recommendations.
Since 2014, the NRA has used this grant program’s existence to raise funds at events. The program was even mentioned in NRA fundraising materials as recently as April.
Schools that received grants in the past were contacted by NBC News to express gratitude.
Missouri’s North St. Francois County School District received what appears to have been one of the last School Shield grants that was distributed in 2019. Kathryn Bockman, superintendent, said that the $20,341 grant was for a district located an hour south from St. Louis. She explained that the grant was used to upgrade cameras and add security systems to five of our campuses in 2019.
Bockman stated that the school made a decision to improve security and the community supported a local bond. This money was used to upgrade their vestibules and entryways.
According to Loretta Hartfield (a school district official), the $8,000 was used in Pontotoc County Mississippi for the purchase of a $21,000 safety fence.
Hartfield stated that a fence was built around the entire building to keep visitors out. Hartfield said that the fence was extremely useful and is still in use. She also stated that the school district paid the remainder of the cost.
Rick Blosser is a Kansas principal at Nickerson High School, located an hour northwest from Wichita. He said that his school hosted a four day NRA School Shield assessment seminar in 2017 to help local schools assess building safety. This included cameras, doors locks, and points of entry. He was highly impressed with the training and would recommend it to school officials. He didn’t know of any NRA grants that would have allowed him to upgrade his security systems.
According to a school resource officer, the funding for security upgrades at the school came ultimately from a state grant program.
A 2019 FAQ sheet about the program was distributed to grant recipients by NBC News. It describes the types and funding sources for School Shield projects.
According to tax filings, the first NRA School Shield grants were distributed by the NRA foundation in 2014. Three school districts received $189,000 each in funding.
According to school district websites and local news reports, at least seven School Shield trainings were held by NRA personnel or law enforcement over the next three-years. These ranged from one-day workshops to multi-day seminars. According to tax filings, schools did not receive grants to improve security.
Darrel Schenck, a part-time NRA adjunct instructor, said that the program was busiest during 2017-2019. A thorough assessment of schools took place over four days, with interviews with teachers and students. He would also discuss funding options for security upgrades, including NRA grants. This includes private foundation funds and state and federal grant opportunities. Although he stated that he does not know of any future trainings, a representative from NRA headquarters said, “I know they’re trying to get things moving again, I ask them continually, and I’m ready for it.”
Oliver North, the retired Lt. Col. Oliver North, took control of the organization in 2018. He revived the School Shield grant program. The NRA sent at most $368,767 that year to 20 school districts, according to tax filings.
According to the NRA, 2019 was the most generous with $991946 being sent to 101 schools.
North left the company in April 2019.
In a short phone interview, North said that his questions regarding funding for School Shield were what “started the process of finding an outside auditor.”
Following the financial review, questionable NRA spendings were discovered. These expenditures were later documented in a lawsuit. This led to Letitia James, New York Attorney General, continuing her investigation.
North refused to answer questions about the money raised for School Shield.
“Where did all that money go?” North stated that he had no idea. North stated that he was fired and has been expelled from the board. He claimed the program was designed to “save the lives of our most precious national resource, children.”
North said that he would push for the NRA’s removal if he was still with it.
Ackerman McQueen was sued by the NRA in 2019 for overcharging gun rights group. The counter-claim was filed by the PR firm against the NRA. Ackerman claimed that the NRA had raised millions of dollars for School Shield, but did not spend the money on the program. He called it a “media stunt”
LaPierre refuted the allegations.
North stated that the program was true when he was there and that Ackerman’s claims in the legal filings are still accurate.
Ackerman’s lawsuit and Ackerman’s counter-suit were settled this spring on undisclosed terms.
