DeKalb school shooting spurs fresh debate on dollars vs. security | www.myajc.com

Door locks and security cameras in working order? Check.

Intrusion alarm operational? Yes.

And, crucially, the staff at the Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy had trained for intruder alerts, according to the school’s state-mandated safety plan.

Despite all the preparation and security hardware, though, a man with an AK-47 type rifle got into the elementary school Tuesday and fired several rounds. Had it been a high school, he might have confronted an armed guard, but like many other local systems the DeKalb County School District typically does not station officers in elementary schools.

This incident could change that. No one was hurt, but the close call is already triggering a debate over dollars versus risk. Is it time to arm elementary schools in Atlanta the way we do middle and high schools, or is the cost too high?

McNair Principal Brian Bolden has ample praise for his bookkeeper Antoinette Tuff. Armed only with a formidable personality, the front office worker sweet-talked the intruder into surrendering. When asked, though, if he’d prefer to have a cop with a gun at the door, Bolden said this: “I think all elementary schools at this point need to have them, because there’s such an immediate threat.”

The former high school principal said the locus of violence seems to be shifting from high schools. “I think one of the reasons is that bad guys are realizing that good guys aren’t in elementary schools — good guys who are armed.”

McNair parent Ashley Bryant wants a cop in the school, too. “I think a school resource officer would prevent future events like this from happening,” she said, using the euphemistic title for school cops.

via DeKalb school shooting spurs fresh debate on dollars vs. security | www.myajc.com.