School Safety
Designated Teachers
“The 8-by-11-inch box sits atop a bookshelf in the school district headquarters, as much a part of the office furniture as the manila folders, yearbooks and Webster’s dictionaries. Inside is a semiautomatic Glock handgun with extra magazines, equipment that education leaders here say will prevent this district from suffering the next schoolhouse tragedy.”
A dateline Sidney, Ohio, front page article, entitled: “Trump’s Call to Arm Teachers Resonates at Schools That Do,” ran in their March 2, 2018 New York Times edition.
Dispersed throughout the school campus, a rural school district just outside Dayton, are dozens of biometric safes, tucked away discreetly in closets and classrooms, accessible only to a designated staff member whose fingerprint can open the box. A bulletproof vest is nearby, in an undisclosed location, fortified to protect against any bullet except one fired from an actual assult rifle.
No Gun Free Zone
John Scheu, the district’s school superintendent, says: “We can’t stop an active shooter, but we can minimize the carnage.”
For all the outcry, officials do not see the strategically placed safety devices scattered through their schools as anything other than a practical response to today’s media created furror.
No Swagger
“I agree with those folks who say teachers should teach and cops should be cops, but we got a mess on our hands,” said the Sheriff, John Lenhart, of Shelby County.
“If I have to wait on state officials, on the federal government, on psychiologists to figure out why people hurt one another, we would have nothing in our school system”
It’s On Us
Since Sandy Hook, in 2013, State legislatures have seen the need to protect students from those “going postal,” just as they earlier had mandated the fire safety percautions of fire hydrants, fire extinguishers, and fire alarms, making them now standard equipment.
At least 10 States allow school staff members, those designated and have concealed carry permits, to possess or have access to a firearm on school property, an analysis by the Education Commission of the States, says.
Safety is Expensive
The school district of Sidney, Ohio, has spent about $70,000 on safes, bulletproof vests, cameras, guns, radio’s and ammunition. Uniformed, armed officers cost $200,000 a year, and an insurance policy of $100,000 a year includes coverage for its staff with access to firearms. Those are negligible expenses for a school district with a $36 million budget, the superintendent said.
It’s the teacher’s responsibility to protect the kids, no matter what, and they do it already, but now these additional tools can serve as an insurance policy.
Community Support
Mrs. Nicki New, the parent of three students in Sidney City Schools, said she felt safer dropping off her children knowing there were staff members equipped to respond to a parent’s worst nightmare.
“God forbid, if something would happen, knowing that not only a law enforcement officer is there, but there are teachers in that building who can give my child a fighting chance, is even more reassuring,” Mrs. New said.
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