I like the people currently serving on our School Board. I don’t have to agree with everything they say and do. I believe that their intention is to work with the limitations they are given to do what is in the best interests of students. My trust in them is not given blindly. There are people no longer on the board who were not focused on students.

A few weeks ago, the school system released a statement that claimed that all of our schools are safe. It came on the heels of the community learning about failures in the existing security systems. It came at the same time that families were participating in fundraisers to purchase security systems for their school. Parents recognize the cognitive dissonance here.

With all due respect:

If every school was not inspected, you do not get to claim all schools are safe.

If each school is responsible for their own security expenses, each school can decide if they want to confiscate every visitor’s shoes and have mandatory full body scans or if they want to install a revolving door and sing “Kum ba yah” to every visitor.

If the system isn’t responsible for books, computers or door locks (see link above), it would help prevent future confusion and frustration if the school system would post a complete list of exactly what schools ARE responsible for providing. Parents need to better plan how they should budget their personal finances, volunteer time and community solicitation skills for their children’s public education.

Update:

I have been letting the above post linger in my draft folder for several days. It felt like I was missing something. There had to be a better explanation for the security confusion. Last night, during my daily two a.m. sleeplessness, it finally made sense. Everyone is conflating and separating security and safety. I will simplify the solution to this confusion.

When the school buildings are unoccupied, we are concerned about the security of the structure and the contents of the structure. If there is a single person in the building, we are concerned about the security and safety of the people in the building. The people are more important than the stuff.

Now, we should all be on the same team. Make progress.