FRONTIERSMAN EDITORIAL

Prior to Feb. 19, 1997, Alaska public schools were havens for learning — gathering places where adults and children could be safe while preparing students to be tomorrow’s leaders. Then Evan Ramsey opened fire at Bethel High School, killing a student and the principal.

Just over two years later, on April 20, 1999, the nation was shaken when a pair of students, armed to the teeth, entered Columbine (Colo.) High School and killed 14 students and a teacher before shooting themselves, forever burning the name “Columbine” on our collective conscience.

It was nearly a year ago when a 23-year-old Virginia Tech University student went on this nation’s deadliest shooting rampage by killing 32 students and teachers then himself on April 16, 2007. In the roughly eight years between the Columbine and Virginia Tech rampages, there have been no fewer than 26 deadly school shootings in the United States. That’s just fatal shootings, not counting other acts of violence.

That’s why we support the Mat-Su Borough School District and its potential $9 million bond that may be on this November’s general election ballot. Superintendent George Troxel explains the funds are needed not to build more schools or remodel existing facilities, but to upgrade the security of our schools. Troxel says the money is needed to “create a baseline standard for the school district” for security and safety.

We agree. While Bethel, Columbine, Virginia Tech and the 26 other fatal shootings at U.S. public schools over the past years have robbed us of some of the sense of security we’ve had in public schools, these incidents have also taught us we need to do better. In the Mat-Su Valley, our local school district recognizes this and we need to make sure our educators have the resources they need to teach our children in as safe an environment as possible.

If this means shelling out an extra $3.70 a year for every $100,000 in assessed valuation, it’s well worth it to bring those schools that need more security up to snuff.

Violence in public schools didn’t begin with Bethel and it hasn’t ended with Virginia Tech. More than anything, these examples of school violence have brought home that it really can happen here. There is no school district too small or school building too rural to escape this potential. Prior to Sept. 26, 2006, the folks in Bailey, Colo., felt this way. A small, close-knit Western mountain community, Bailey is a lot like the communities in the Mat-Su. It was on this day a man walked into Platte Canyon High School there, held six students hostage before killing a 16-year-old student and himself.

We don’t cite these examples for their shock value or as a scare tactic. These are incidents our local schools must consider every day when preparing for any conceivable happening. For a district that covers a geographic area as large as some states, the Mat-Su School District has some unique security challenges. Just in the past year officials at local schools have dealt with terroristic graffiti and other threats made on school campuses.

We urge the Mat-Su School District and Borough to move forward with creating a more comprehensive school safety policy. Educate the community on just what the security needs are at our schools so we can step up to the plate and make security a priority.

With the technology available today, officials can maintain as safe a school campus as possible without turning our educational institutions into daytime jails.