Now
Fair
13°
High
32°
Low
24°
Full Forecast

Jobs

Cars

Homes

Rentals

Alerts

Subscribe
Home > Editorial Main
Bookmark Us   •   Make Us Your Homepage

Local school security ideas need scrutiny

Comments 10 comment(s)  
E-mail Story E-mail Story
Print Story Print Story
Share  Share
Text Size: 
Tools Sponsor

Friday, May 26, 2006 - 12:11:10 am CDT

The new security measures suggested for Lincoln Public Schools are surprisingly drastic.

Requiring students to wear ID cards around their necks?

Abolishing high school open campus?

We didn’t see this coming when the district hired its first director of security earlier this year

Let’s hope the Lincoln Board of Education takes the time to study the proposals from all angles before taking action.

As board member Barb Baier has pointed out, Lincoln’s schools have an open and welcoming climate. That should be valued and preserved.

Some of the more extreme measures have been suggested for discussion, rather than implementation, said Bill Kuehn, who was named LPS director of security in January.

Kuehn, a brigadier general with the Nebraska Army National Guard, was involved in many of the security initiatives undertaken in Nebraska after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. His position with LPS is a full-time one; his role with the Guard is now part-time.

The security suggestions for LPS were developed after sessions with 15 focus groups, including parents, students, teachers, administrators and others.

As a departure from the norm in Lincoln, some of the proposals are extreme. In a national scope, however, they don’t seem quite as uncommon.

A report last year from the National Center for Education Statistics showed that 13 percent of high schools required badges or picture IDs for students.

Although random metal detector tests were not suggested for Lincoln, they are used in 15 percent of the nation’s high schools, 14 percent of middle schools and 4 percent of elementary schools.

But most of those precautions are taken in urban schools with a history of violence.

So far this year in Detroit, for example, four shootings have been reported in and around schools, in addition to two stabbings of students and several dozen robberies of employees. The Detroit school district is considering a proposal to convert its more than 300 officer security force into an actual in-house police force.

There’s little doubt that LPS can and should do more to upgrade its security.

But before it transforms its open, welcoming atmosphere into something oppressive and smothering, it should be careful to distinguish between threats that are real and those that are imagined.

Security precautions inevitably cost money and require staff time. The school board should make sure they are really necessary before it diverts resources that otherwise would be used for education.


$1 Sunday Delivery - Subscribe Today!
Editorial Main > Back to Top of Story

Post Your Comment

Standards and Rules
All posts to JournalStar.com are subject to our Terms and Standards.
Your posted comment will appear after it has been approved.
Frequently asked questions about story commenting.
(optional)
   
Hide Comments Hide Comments   Newest First Newest First  
Paul wrote on May 26, 2006 7:37 am:
" You want to protect the children but you don't want increased security measures to insure they are safe. I have a student at LSW. I walked into the school, past security, and the office and was never challenged as to who I was or why I was there. To me id's having to be worn is not a bad idea, heck someone should be stationed at the front doors of every school to check id's and determine who is in our schools and why. The cost of securing our schools and protecting our children is priceless. As a tax payer I would pay any amount to know my child is safe at school and the district is doing everything to insure their safty. "

 Doug wrote on May 26, 2006 9:43 am:
" Is this the same city that says we don't need concealed carry when we are one of only two states that didn't have it? Now we are saying we need to follow the 15% of the schools who need these extra security measures? Are we really comparing ourselves to Detroit? I agree we need security in schools but closing High School open campus isn't necessary. Why don't we tatoo student to their foreheads. This city amazes me more every day. I'll bet Colleen is behind this too. "

 Idea? wrote on May 26, 2006 11:21 am:
" If we let the kids carry concealed weapons, we wouldn't need to pay for extra security. "

 CS wrote on May 26, 2006 12:29 pm:
" Except that school students under 19 are minors and therefore are not qualified to own weapons by the law-even in the military they don't own them, merely check them out of the armory, so that is not a valid exception. "

 Kelly wrote on May 26, 2006 12:43 pm:
" I don't see wearing student IDs prominently at the high school level as drastic. Look at what Paul wrote. He got past everyone. How about enforcing the rules that are already in place??? Why oh why wouldn't someone have stopped him? I, too have a child in a Lincoln public school. I should NOT have to worry about her safety while she's there. "

 Simon wrote on May 26, 2006 1:02 pm:
" Mr. Kuehn is a security expert. Why hire a security expert and then ignore his recommendations? The histrionics by a couple of school boards members was unnecessary. Mr Kuehn made preliminary suggestions on security measures for the school board to consider that would help make our schools safer and what is his reward? Everybody criticizes his recommendations. So far, nobody--members of the school board or this editorial--has offered any concrete evidence as to how closing campus would create an uninviting atmosphere. I have a better idea, justify why open campus is necessary in the first place. "

 Doug wrote on May 27, 2006 7:35 am:
" Simon, why should we justify open campus? Open campus is for high school seniors who are 17-18 years old. These are big kids who can take care of themselves. They can drive a car but you don't think they can be on the streets by themselves? What are you going to do when the graduate? Lock them in your house or push to close campus in college? Also, who said Mr. Kuehn is an expert? He was a BG in the Army Guard, that does not make him a security expert. Read again, these recommendations were made by a group of parents, teachers and students who are as paranoid as you Simon. Concrete evidence? Have you eaten at a school lunchroom lately? "

 Brad wrote on May 28, 2006 3:59 am:
" Why don't people ask the students if they think more security is required. I bet if you asked students if they thought more strict security measures needed to be taken, 99.9% of them would say no. As a recent H.S. graduate of LPS I think it's rediculous how paranoid some parents are of safety in schools. School's are already one of the safest places a kid can be. younger kids are under teacher supervision for virtually the entire day, and even highschool kids get little time to be away from adult supervision. If someone told me to wear a student ID around my neck I would refuse to do so, and I guarantee many other students would too. Why not just require students carry ID in their pocket? Stupid! "

 Michele wrote on May 30, 2006 10:59 pm:
" Well said Paul! Thank you! Children are our most vulnerable citizens and are mandated by law to attend school. It is high past time that security be increased. Isn't it sad that we must imprison our children rather than those who prey upon them? Let's not only enforce the id badges but scan them at every class room door. "

 High School Student wrote on January 23, 2007 8:11 pm:
" "Michele I can see protecting students from one another but the point is the same, how are they getting in and why is the staff not doing anything. They don't need to spend money on badges what they need is more security around school entrances." "

Ads by Yahoo!