SCHOOLS: Paying for protection

This week the school board is meeting to discuss school security. I’m wondering if Coeur d’Alene’s mayor and police chief are going to be there? And, maybe the Kootenai County sheriff should attend also. The last time I checked, our schools were within their jurisdiction.

The responsibility and cost of security at our schools should not come out of the education budget. Instead, the cost and responsibility for security at our schools should come out of our law enforcement taxes.

There has never been a bank robbery with two police cars parked in the parking lot, and likewise, a single security guard has never stopped a school shooting, or a bank robbery.

I suggest that every police officer and sheriff’s deputy starts and ends their shift walking the halls at a school. This continuous, and unpredictable, presence of police cars and police officers can shout a large message to potential shooters: “NOT IN OUR TOWN!”

BOB DUFFIELD

Coeur d’Alene