Carroll County school officials said Friday there is increased police presence at some schools and officials are watching the news carefully out of Connecticut as they try to comprehend the magnitude of the tragedy there.
A gunman allegedly killed 27 people, including 18 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, according to Newtown Patch. The gunman was reportedly found dead inside the school.
“I just got reports that Manchester police are just patrolling around the schools at dismissal time – just showing a presence that people are safe. People might see an increased police presence,” said Steven Johnson, assistant superintendent of instruction at Carroll County public schools
The increase in police presence at local schools is being coordinated by individual law enforcement agencies, not the district, Johnson said.
Carroll County officials said they had received a few phone calls from parents Friday asking about safety precautions. Officials said they were not aware of anyone picking up their kids early from school, as of 3 p.m. Friday.
Johnson said the district is not doing anything significantly differently, safety-wise, in response to the Newtown school shooting.
“It seems like an isolated shooting,” he said, adding that the schools are continuing to abide by their safety plans, which are updated annually.
“We practice two lockdowns a school year for instances like this, or instances like intruders in the building,” he said. “Our schools have up to date safety plans. ... You hope this never ever happens, but you know we’re as prepared as we could.”
In Baltimore County, officials said Friday that Baltimore County Police were increasing patrols at local public schools without resource officers after the Friday morning shooting at the Connecticut elementary school.
Anne Arundel County police also boosted security at all public schools Friday afternoon prior to dismissal, according to Anne Arundel Patch.
Johnson said Carroll County schools have, in the past, made changes to security procedures following school shootings elsewhere.
After Columbine, the district issued identification cards for every school employee, and required visitor sign-in and badges.
As for measures beyond that, such as metal detectors?
There are no discussions for metal detectors in Carroll County schools, Johnson said.
“We try to walk a balance. We want schools to be welcoming places,” he said. “We want parents to be engaged in our schools and volunteer at schools. We can do as much as we can, but we can never, ever guarantee -- if someone wants to do harm, they will do harm.”
“Unfortunately, we can’t guarantee 100 percent everybody’s protection,” he added.
See related coverage:
- Anne Arundel Police Heighten School Security After Connecticut Shooting
- County Police Patrolling Schools Without Resource Officers After Connecticut Shooting
- Patch Exclusive: 'It Wasn't Me' Man Named as Shooter Writes
We may not be able to forestall all dangerous people bent on getting into schools to do harm but we have a responsibility to our children to increase security beyond where it is now. At my son's school, anyone can just walk in. There was no security to speak of at an evening dance last year. Once the dance got under way, anyone could come in or go out the main doors without being stopped. Now, we're supposed to reassure our kids that everything's OK. But we've seen this before. A copycat shooter will surface in the next few weeks or months. But nothing will have changed and we'll be crying over someone else's body. Everything isn't OK. But the powers that be will claim nothing more can be done. And the folks who want to pretend it's still the 1950s will clamor that we can't live in fear and the best thing we can do is resume our lives as if nothing had happened. That's not good enough anymore. Pry some money out of the budget; administrators salaries are ripe for cutting. And now that the biometric scanner lunch pass program is kaput, that should free up some money.