May 24, 2000

Guarantee of school safety impossible to achieve

There is no guarantee of success with human endeavors.

That includes school safety.

Those who administer schools could not even try to make schools as safe as possible. Such a pursuit would be never ending. There always would be one more safety method, system or practice to add, until either education was crowded out of the school day, the school was bankrupt, or both.

School districts must take every reasonable precaution to make sure that buildings are safe for students and staff. We have seen no indictations that schools in this community are falling short of that.

That doesn't mean safety methods couldn't be improved ... reasonably. School board members and administrators have expressed a willingness to listen to suggestions from parents and other community members.

But there is no reason to turn schools into fortresses or prisons. Safety must be a priority, but it cannot be the only one.