Editorial: One way or another, schools need protection

Last week, the Fort Mill School Board discussed the possibility of hiring a private security firm to provide guards at four elementary schools not covered by Fort Mill or Tega Cay police department resource officers. There are still a few questions to answer following this initial public discussion, but the proposal is worth exploring.

Although reaction to the idea has been mixed on social media, everyone – us included – agrees that none of our schools should lack proper security. We would all hope the most serious case security personnel would have to handle is breaking up a schoolyard fight or tracking down stolen property, but the new reality is every school in every state in the nation needs to be ready for an armed intruder intent on inflicting harm.

Or, perhaps armed students or staff.

Thankfully, the odds of an attack are still relatively slim, but according to a report by the FBI that studied mass shootings from 2000-2013, they’ve become more likely every year. The report also shows that in 60 percent of the incidents, police arrived after the attack ended. Clearly, it’s prudent to have armed security on school grounds not just for quick response, but possibly as a deterrent.

At our schools that do have resource officer protection, the officers offer more than security. They are friends and role models for students and many are part of the community when they’re off-duty as well. Would that change with a private firm? It’s difficult to know, but it’s not inconceivable that those same types of relationships would emerge.

We should also point out that this is not the same situation faced by school officials and residents in Chester, where resource officers were replaced by private security. Here, we’re talking about schools with no on-site security to begin with and, according to the Fort Mill Police Department, they haven’t been consulted by the school district.

And that’s one of the questions that should be answered. If the FMPD hasn’t been in the loop, why? It’s reasonable to imagine that because the district already knows the cost of providing resource officers, it already considers bringing in more cost prohibitive. But it wouldn’t cost a penny to ask. It could be the FMPD doesn’t have the personnel on staff to handle the job even if they were asked – but we don’t know.

The point should also be raised and discussed is that if the only thing preventing the district from hiring more resource officers is cost, maybe this is one of those instances where savings should not be a factor.

Another question to answer is, if the district wanted to contract with a for-profit company for security, would that have to go out to bid? And if so, would the district be obligated to hire the lowest bidder without other considerations?

We’ve no doubt more information will be forthcoming and there will be a healthy public discussion before any decisions are made. Ultimately though, the district is correct in seeking a way to make sure all of its schools are properly protected.

This story was originally published January 11, 2016 at 11:58 AM with the headline "Editorial: One way or another, schools need protection."