Speak Up: Are Delaware schools more safe?

Legislators expanded and allocated $10 million to the Delaware School Safety and Security Fund last year. Since then, 16 out of 19 districts and four charter schools have submitted applications to finance constables, a hybrid of a police officer and security guard. Funding is also used for safety measures, including door and window locks, vestibule improvements, cameras and monitoring equipment. Do you feel these additional resources make schools safer? What should be added or done differently?

• No, our schools are most certainly unsafe. I don’t see any of these monies used to educate the youth in the schools about gun violence and consequences for such. Additionally, some of the most concerning violence is happening inside the schools themselves. Locking doors and windows only locks our children in with bullying offenders. Some of these monies would be better used for helping emotionally disturbed children receive services, so they don’t grow up as violent offenders. — Suzanne Jane
• The solutions to keeping schools and communities safe lie in the classroom. Teachers must keep students in the classroom, instead of allowing a small handful to just wander the hallways during their teaching period! Secondly, administrators must support the teachers and not simply return the “unwilling to learn.” When kids slip out of the classroom, they also slip out of the building, propping open doors, breaching the physical safety and security of the dwelling and those contained within. The school resource officers have to be one of the best additions to the schools, and they must not have their hands tied when it comes to dealing with student offenders. — Howard Gaines III
• No, I don’t believe they are safe. I am afraid for my grandchildren every day they go to the Capital School District. They tell me things that go on in the school that people are not aware of. It is scary! Please, Mr. Governor, sign safe gun laws into legislation. — Ruth Hamilton