The following paper was written and presented by Lauren LoPorto in the Montclair State University School Finance Class that I taught this past semester. This paper is one of many that I have chosen to highlight on this blog as it is contemporary and directly related to the issues in financing public education.
The Cost of School
Security
Montclair State
University
Lauren LoPorto - ELAD
622
Professor Pepe
Review
of Material Covered
Karissa
Marcum, a Columbine survivor, now 28, describes her tale of the horrific day
she and her sister experienced as high school students. Marcum shares her
sadness for the senseless murders committed at Sandy Hook and discusses her
opinion on gun control.
The controversial
strategy known as A.L.I.C.E. Alert,
Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evaluate is defined and explained in this podcast.
The program creator believes training children as young as 5-years-old to,
“fight back” against an active shooter is an effective strategy. This is a controversial
approach but many believe we need to change our
thinking about how potential victims should respond, and that a shift toward
more active resistance in crime situations is happening. He supports this idea
by explaining before September 11, passengers were advised to comply with
hijackers, and that self-defense instructors used to tell women to go limp to
survive a rape.
Candoli, C., Guthrie, J.W., Hack, W.G., Hart, C.C., & Ray,
J,R. (2008). Modern School Business Administration: A Planning Approach.
Boston, MA: Pearson
The
text describes the need for school security and the level of crime increase due
to a number of factors including drugs, gangs, and vandalism. The most
successful school security personnel have a close working relationship with
building administrators and students they serve.
Kennedy,
M. (2012). Today’s school security. American School & University,
16-22.
This
journal article summarized the lessons learned from the school shooting
massacres including Columbine and Virginia Tech. The measures taken by schools
and universities today have been intensified to ensure public safety. Finally,
prevention is discussed by identifying problems and why the role of violence
prevention programs at schools is beneficial.
The
gun control debate ensues and many politicians are using school violence to
promote their stance both for and against gun control. Those invested in
pro-gun laws are pushing for armed guards at every school to make them “safer.”
This
article summarizes the events that occurred on April 20, 1999 when Dylan
Klebold and Eric Harris terrorized and murdered their classmates before turning
the guns on themselves. Not only did the boys have guns, but they planted bombs
that thankfully failed to explode. Also discussed are some of the security
steps put in place since Columbine.
Ken
Trump is the President of a National School Safety and Security Services firm. His
School Security Blog is a “news and opinion blog for educators, safety
professionals, parents, media, and others who are passionate and concerned
about K-12 school safety, security, and crisis/emergency preparedness.” I read
over a dozen of his posts and posts by guest published on his website:
schoolsecurityblog.com. While most posts are one-sided, his contributions to
this issue are informative and valuable.
Thesis
The
safety and security of our schools should be a top priority; but what strategies
are truly effective and what measures are schools taking to prevent violence
from happening in their town?
Issues
and Strategies Identified
“A tragedy of unspeakable terms,” were
the words spoken by Connecticut Governor, Daniel Malloy. On December 14, 2012
twenty-six children and educators were killed when a disturbed man shot his way
into an elementary school. The Newtown school shooting has brought attention to
school security back up to the surface. Administrators, teachers, parents, and
even students are now wondering the same thing; how safe are our schools? With the
economy on the brink of a recession, and Federal and State aid being rerouted
in order to pay for new mandates, many schools have been challenged to maintain
their budgets with less. Schools everywhere, especially in New Jersey, have
been forced to make weighty cuts and have reduced levels of security as a
result. Should the security of our schools and the safety of our children be a
top priority? The obvious answer is yes, but how this is achieved and at what
cost is up for debate.
DO AC! If you are looking for real professional growth and opportunity centered on the Business of Education, then you should make plans to DO AC IN A BIG WAY!
