SCHOOL SECURITY: Awareness needed first

I understand Mr. Gibboney’s concerns and frustration, I can only wish him good luck with getting his suggestions implemented. Neighborhood Watch, VIPS programs, crossing guards, and other concerned citizens of a like mindset help their communities. Public schools, however, are their own little communities with an entirely different mindset. I speak from experience as a credentialed teacher and retired Peace Officer.

School teachers and school administrators, as a group, are there to teach and administrate. They view things such as fire drills, lockdown drills, as a distraction and something they must put up with. They are in their own little world. I was told when I worked as a teacher’s aide at a local high school, I must do nothing which upsets the parents. If they remove their children from the school, it affects funding from Boise. I was told by my supervision it is all about: “…butts in the seats.”

How do you implement a program of proactive, armed security at a public school? I have a few ideas, but that would take several more paragraphs. The one suggestion which I can offer is what kept me alive when I wore a badge: Situational awareness. Vigilance means survival, whether you are driving a car, attending a concert, walking through a shopping mall, or teaching in a public school. If you do not have that, carrying a firearm will not help you.

JOHN M. JOHNSON

Post Falls