My report: Schools are open buildings, says a local school board member
Some of you know that I am president of my local Democratic Women's Club of Florida chapter. Our speaker at last Saturday's monthly meeting was a school board member running for reelection. School board races are non partisan here but this guy is a Democrat and a good school board member - wife a middle school teacher, kids attending public schools here.
He talked a lot about school safety WRT the Parkland massacre and the dumb legislation recently passed by the FL leg. He was challenged a lot by one women (I suspect a troll but don't know) - why can't we make schools safer, why are we not doing more.
He explained that schools are public, open buildings and despite all the steps taken in recent years to secure them - fences, all doors locked, visitors cannot enter the school except via the office, etc, it is impossible to totally secure them. She wouldn't have that and kept interrupting him and accusing him of not trying.
He noted that, as well as being schools, they are also public buildings. Non school related activities, including sporting events and churches, happen at schools every weekend. What's to stop someone from bringing weapons in on Sunday, hiding them somewhere, and entering the school with the students one morning (only time the main doors are fully open)? Also, think of all the different activities going on all week after school, marching band rehearsal, sports practices, service club activities. Kids and adults are in and out at different parts of a school.
Plus, what's to stop a shooter from waiting outside and opening fire when students leave for the day? He talked a lot about mental health screenings (this is a red county, he couldn't talk a lot about guns). So I piped up and said, instead of turning schools into prisons, how about we stop people from getting the guns in the first place? That got a round of applause and shut the woman up.
I substitute teach (sometimes). The schools I have taught at have dozens of external doors, some leading directly from classrooms. They are locked from the outside now, but I remember when DS1 was in these schools, they were not. Again, it would be simple for a student to open a door to let a fellow student in.
One or two SRO (school resource officers) cannot stop a carnage that could happen. Sensible gun laws can.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I just found out about the tragedy in Texas.
But I just cannot deal with the same old script. 
