An entrance to Mountain View High School, seen here in December 2013.

Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steve Cook will allow a replacement sign from ammunition manufacturer Nosler Inc. to hang beneath the football scoreboard at Mountain View High School, the district said Thursday.

The decision quickly drew the ire of some youth advocates for gun control, who say advertisements about a firearms manufacturer have no place in a school, particularly one that was once attended by a man who opened fire on innocent shoppers in a Bend grocery store, killing two people and then himself.

“I think it’s completely unacceptable and completely tone deaf,” said Isabelle Richards, a 17-year-old senior at Redmond Proficiency Academy, who advocates for stricter gun laws.

The company’s banner hung during the first week of school, then taken down, but not because of complaints. Principal Michael Hicks removed the original sign because the company’s name was too large for a commercial sponsorship, said district spokesman Scott Maben in an email Thursday.

But community members and parents voiced concerns that a school site was not an appropriate place to have advertising from a bullet manufacturer, and the district initially decided not to replace the sign because of these concerns.

The district simultaneously began a review of sponsorships and advertising displayed on school property.

The replacement sign will recognize both the school as well as Nosler Inc.’s years of sponsorship, Cook said Thursday.

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The district acknowledged that its current advertising policy states that it does not accept advertising which “promotes the use of…firearms,” but the district said it’s still reviewing this policy.

Cook consulted with the district’s legal department in making the decision to restore the sign.

The district’s relationship with Nosler Inc., which has supported the Mountain View High community for decades, will remain in place.

“We’re going to spend time on the policy; it’s nearly 10 years old,” Cook told The Bulletin on Thursday. “It needs attention, and in lieu of that attention, we’re going to hold the status quo.”

Richards, a vocal proponent of stricter gun measures, said she believes the district shouldn’t have any displays of firearms around schools, noting the increase in shootings at schools nationwide.

In her view, keeping the sign up sends a message to students.

“I think the message that sends is that sponsorship and money and these companies are more important to the school than the students at the school,” said Richards.

In August 2022, a former Mountain View student opened fire on innocent shoppers with an AR-15-style rifle at a Safeway on Bend’s east side, killing two people in an act of violence that continues to shake the city.

Local law enforcement officials have stated they believe the gunman also wrote an online post describing plans to attack Mountain View High School.

Juniper Rook, another advocate who attends Redmond Proficiency Academy, called the district’s decision insensitive, pointing to the Safeway shooting.

“If our school districts and teachers are unable to see how these issues affect students, there won’t be a time in the near future where students in our community can go to school anxiety free,” she said.

In the statement Thursday, Maben acknowledged that the Safeway shooting was “an event that was deeply upsetting for students, staff and our entire community.”

But, he added: “As awareness of the sign in question has grown in recent weeks, the school and district also heard from community members supporting how the school recognizes Nosler for its tradition of supporting students in our District.”

Nosler Inc. sells hunting rifles, ammunition, suppressants and other merchandise. The company moved to Bend in 1958. It has also sponsored sports at Summit High School.

But the company’s name has also made the news in recent years for a separate, tragic reason.

In September 2021, one of Nosler’s former employees, Ian Cranston, shot and killed 22-year-old Barry Washington, an unarmed Black man, in a fight outside The Capitol bar in downtown Bend, a killing that quickly made national headlines and sparked protests throughout the city.

Nosler’s public relations manager Zach Waterman did not return a call for comment on Thursday.

The review of the district’s sponsorship policy is scheduled for this school year. The public can provide comment on proposed changes to policies.