The real risks
Recently, the Wake County Board of Education wisely chose to postpone voting on the proposal to add unarmed guards to every Wake County elementary school. Now, it needs to take time to truly evaluate what is best for our children.
The tragedy in Newtown, Conn., was horrific and heartbreaking. There is no denying that. That said, the risk of a similar incident at any other elementary school in the country is extraordinarily small, and an unarmed guard would do absolutely nothing to prevent it. He would simply add to the body count.
In the first 18 days of this year, there were 29 children killed by the flu in the U.S. If we have a $2.4 million budget surplus to put toward our children’s safety, put it toward school nurses. Every year, parents are asked by teachers to supply tissues, Clorox wipes and hand soap. Dedicate the money toward those basic supplies.
The flu is a very real risk to our children, and yet Wake County can’t seem to find money in the budget to provide the essentials for illness prevention.
Our elementary schools need hand soap. They need janitors. They need assistant teachers. They need copy paper and glue sticks. They need library books.
There are so many ways that money could be spent to benefit our children. Unarmed guards is not one of them.
Ann Bagley
Cary
