Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones announced Thursday a proposal to have retired police officers serve as armed substitute teachers among the 214 substitute teachers that are in Butler and Warren county schools daily.

These armed substitute teachers would give students and school staff added protection at a low cost to taxpayers, Jones said.

“It is basically a two-for-one,” Jones said, adding that the position is likely the first of its kind in Ohio.

The idea to arm school personnel came from Scott Miller, a retired Mason police officer with a college degree in accounting and finance, who felt the need to do something to further protect children after the December shooting in Newtown, Conn., in which teachers, school staff members and 20 students were killed by a gunman.

“That’s better than nothing” Miller said. “But a better option is having an experienced police officer. No child should be fearful of going to school.”

Jones called the idea a “fresh idea, outside-the-box proposal.”

He has met with three school districts whose administrators expressed an interest in hiring Miller, he said. He declined to name the districts, noting individual school boards must first approve the decision.

“Hopefully, this concept can catch on and be utilized in schools everywhere,” Jones said. “I do believe Scott will be very busy … the best thing is you will not know where the armed teacher is going to be or in what school.”

The sheriff said he would swear in more retired officers as armed substitute teachers if they are certified officers and pass a background check.

Miller was forced to retire in 2010 due to injuries he sustained after being hit by a vehicle twice while on duty. None of the injuries, he said, would preclude him from keeping children safe.

A Warren County jury in 2011 awarded Miller nearly $1.9 million in damages and pain and suffering after he was hit by a car while directing traffic in 2010 outside St. Susanna Catholic Church in Mason.

“I would gladly trade my life for that of a child,” said Miller, who attended the press conference with his wife, Dana. “And it doesn’t cost a nickel to have me in the schools.”

Jones said he has also received inquiries from principals who are interested in being trained to carry weapons.

“I do expect that to happen,” he said.

Substitute teachers in Ohio must obtain a Substitute Teacher License, which requires them to have a bachelor’s degree and pass both an Ohio and FBI criminal background check, conducted by the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, according to the Ohio Department of Education.