Safety at school

Upset parents reeling in the aftermath of Wednesday's school shooting in Tacoma can draw guidance, if not comfort, from the fact that school violence is rare in Washington state.

Yes, it is unnerving that a Foss High School student was able to walk into school and fatally shoot another student. As horrific as it was, the rate of such incidents is low, making our schools the safest place for young people to be. Credit for maintaining safety goes not just to metal detectors, surveillance cameras and other security apparatuses, but to the long-standing relationships between school principals and local police.

Urban districts such as Seattle and Tacoma have insisted on close ties with police departments, to support school security and to provide a line of authority that moves inside and outside of schools.

Two security officers and a city police officer are assigned to Foss in Tacoma. In Seattle, depending on the high school's size, one or two uniformed officers from one of the city's five police precincts are assigned to a building. Along with the school's own security teams, they build relationships and serve as the first line of protection. At major sports events and dances, the police are as tightly involved as the school staff.

This may not sound as sexy as the prospect of state lawmakers responding to calls for greater school security by hastily enacting legislation. Indeed, the mechanics of school security can always be improved.

One proposal in Olympia that would actually pay off is school mapping. Digital X-rays showing every nook and cranny of a school building are essential not just for high schools, but elementary and middle schools.

But, the most important use of time and our public dollars is supporting the partnerships between schools and law enforcement. It has been a long road on both sides. Initially, principals and officers butted heads over lines of authority. Police departments backed off, placing themselves in a supportive role to a school building's chief, the principal.

Administrators had to be coaxed into using police services, some principals reluctant to report crimes for fear of giving their school a bad reputation or being accused by parents of overreacting.

Now, there isn't a high-school principal out there who doesn't have the local precinct captain on speed dial. These close relationships are about keeping events like Wednesday's shooting a rarity.

Smart minds and funding ought to remain on security measures of the human kind.