Time for an Honest Assessment of our Priorities in School Spending as it Relates to School Violence

Yesterday evening (Feb 19, 2025), the FBI in cooperation with local law enforcement released a press briefing that revealed two juvenile females had been arrested in connection with a plan to execute a mass-casualty event at Memorial High School in the Houston, Texas area.?? Pipe bombs and firearms were part of their planned arsenal - much like that used by Klebold & Harris in their horrific attack at Columbine High School more than 24 years ago.

Incidents of school violence on the scale of the Columbine tragedy are rare, but certainly not an isolated event.?? Columbine took 16 lives and injured another 20.?? In the years that followed Columbine, we saw 28 killed in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT; 22 killed in 2022 at the school in Uvalde, TX;? 17 killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fl.? Red Lake, MN, 10 dead; Santa Fe, TX, 10 dead; Roseburg, OR, 10 dead. Sadly, this is nowhere near an exhaustive summary. ?The list goes on and on.

In my professional circle of former law enforcement personnel, active law enforcement, school staff & administrators, and the construction industry, we are constantly asking or being asked, “What is the solution to school violence?”.??? I honestly don’t know.? I don’t believe there is simply one answer.? The problem is multi-faceted with root causes as diverse as the people perpetrating this violence.?? Is mental health a factor?? Absolutely. Shooting up a school is not a rational act.? Is a history of being bullied a factor? Medications targeted at controlling ADHD, depression, and other behaviors? The need for belonging, and finding that acceptance among a subculture that embraces violence and acts of defiance, eventually leading to “copy-cat” acts that in a twisted mind somehow seeks notoriety and pays homage to prior actors of mass violence??? I simply don’t know.??

The list of precipitating factors that might compel someone towards violence would be difficult to itemize. Trying to identify and address these factors is a valid approach in helping solve the problem, but we must recognize that changing behaviors will take time.? Semi-auto weapons have been commonly manufactured throughout all of the 20th century.? John Browning, Colt and others were mass producing semi-auto pistols and rifles which could be purchased through Sears & Roebuck (and other dry-goods stores) as far back as the early 1900’s.? There were no background checks, no waiting periods, no permits.?? I present these facts not for the benefit of the pro-gun lobby, but simply to illustrate the following facts: guns with rapid-fire capability have long existed, and?were easier to acquire than they are today.? Whether you are pro-gun or anti-gun, those facts do not change.?? Somewhere, “we” changed.

One may argue that throughout history, we have always had incidents of school violence. That’s true, but – only in the last 30 years or so - have we seen such a rise in both the number of school violence incidents and the casualties associated with such events.? Our behaviors and values have changed, and they need correction. While we work towards those behavioral changes,?we need to look at our own behaviors.? While “we” is simply a two-letter word, I present it to represent we as a society, we as parents, we as educators and administrators, we as “we the people”.??? Changing our behaviors and values will take time, and during that time, it is a sad certainty that we will again and again be witness to school violence, most of which may be preventable.?? I’m not suggesting that we can, in short order, prevent an actor from attempting to carry out violence, but it is a proven reality that we can, in short order, prevent that actor from reaching their intended targets.

Hardening a structure delivers predictable results in both act prevention, as well as any resulting damages from an act of violence.? Hardening a structure is a combination of access control measures, all of which may have their appropriate place in creating your security envelope.? Access control hardware & locks, window films that impede an actors ability to gain entry, bullet resistant doors and windows that keep people from getting shot, visible barriers that prevent the shooter from acquiring targets, etc.? A combination of these methods is the most impactful and immediate change we can demand for the protection of our students, faculty, and staff. ?If these methods work, why then aren’t they being better utilized??? The answer rests with how we prioritize money.

Not only have the behaviors and values changed over time for those who commit these acts of violence, so too have our values changed.? By “our”, I would again suggest that “our” is composed of parents, students, administrators, and the public. I truly appreciate the value of sports, and I am in no way suggesting that sports programs be set aside.? I am, however, suggesting we take an honest assessment of where sports ranks in our priorities as it relates to kids safety and education.

NCAA.org claims that a total of 1,028,761 high school students across the U.S. play football, and only 7.5% go on to play some level of college football.? NFL Football Operations say that only 1.6% of those college students playing Division I, II, or III, ever make it to a professional level.???I’m not a statistician, but I don’t need to be one to understand that 1.6 percent of 7.5 is a ridiculously low number.??We are spending millions upon millions of school funds to the benefit of a very small minority of the student body.?? Of all the students playing football, only 7.5% ever do so again after leaving school.? Weigh that against the benefits of protecting 100% of your student body from harm.? Preserving life is a life-long benefit.

WFAA? is the ABC News affiliate in the Dallas – Fort Worth area.? On August 17th of 2023, they published the following list of the most expensive high school football stadiums built just in Texas.? (Interestingly, the most expensive stadium to date is not in Texas, but rather in Ohio). Adjusted for 2024 dollar values, some of these projects would now exceed $100 million. Bear in mind this is just the construction cost, and isn’t inclusive of operational costs and maintenance. ?

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1 – Cy-Fair Independent School District (ISD) Stadium.? $80 million in 2006.

2 – Katy ISD Legacy Stadium.? $70.3 million in 2017.

3 – McKinney ISD Stadium. $70 million in 2018

4 – Allen ISD Eagle Stadium. $60 million in 2012

5 – Conroe ISD Stadium. $49 million in 2008

6 – Prosper ISD Stadium. $48 million in 2019

7 – Beaumont ISD Memorial Stadium. $47.3 million in 2010

8 – Tomball ISD District Stadium.? $42.6 million in 2021

9 – Alvin ISD Freedom Field. $41.4 million in 2018

10 – Clear Creek ISD.? $39 million in 2016.

In the interest of full disclosure and transparency, yes – I do work for a company (Quikserv & US Bullet Proofing) which sells bullet resistant doors, windows, and wall panels. That is not my motivation for this article. I am also a veteran police officer, who – prior to being involved with my employer – have been very active in the study and exercises of engaging and countering active shooters.? I am passionate about the subject of saving innocent lives.

It's time for an honest conversation with ourselves about our priorities, and time for an analysis on cost -v- benefit surrounding school district expenditures. We can’t quickly change the behaviors that lead to violence, but we can immediately take measures to harden facilities, and doing so is a fraction of what a stadium costs. It is not unreasonable to expect to protect the window & door areas of an entry point for $15k to $40k (there are variables). ?Multiply this by 6 or maybe even 8 building access points, and you may be looking at $120K - $320K as a one-time expenditure that has very little maintenance or operational cost, and will provide decades of service and protection. ?

In summary - We will spend millions of dollars to build elaborate stadiums to the benefit of a minority number of the student population, yet we won’t spend hundreds of thousands to protect every student and staff member in the district.?? “We” need to do better.