Detect This

In mid-January, Dr. Laval S. Wilson, superintendent of the Poughkeepsie City School District, released his 2009-10 Preliminary Budget Concept Paper, documenting the serious fiscal problems the district will be facing come the fall. According to Dr. Wilson, the district is anticipating an estimated $6.872 million budget shortfall, and he has earmarked $6.88 million in cuts to faculty, staff, programs, and services in order to combat the deficit -- things that will adversely effect the students and the district as a whole, but which may simply be unaffordable in this economic climate.

Recently, there have been some well-publicized acts of violence in the vicinity of Poughkeepsie High School, including shootings, that have been part of an escalating trend of violence within the city limits. Mayor John Tkazyik and the Poughkeepsie Police Department have been rightfully engaging with community members in an effort to reduce the violence, and while these acts did not occur on school property or in school buildings, the Board of Education is also working to take proactive steps to keep violence out of the school system.

One of most controversial proposals has been the installation of metal detectors at the three main student entrances of Poughkeepsie High School, at a cost of $38,000. This is an overreaction based on fear, and it is a bad idea. There are 28 entrances at Poughkeepie High School, not to mention the countless windows that can be opened at anytime. Need I say more? The sad truth is that if someone wants to get a weapon into the school, they will, and no amount of metal detection will prevent that. Furthermore, a potential shooter would not need to pass through these metal detectors to cause the most damage. I am also forced to ask -- if at the high school, why not at Poughkeepsie Middle and Smith Schools, which are also in the vicinity of the shootings? And in a time when the superintendent is being forced to cut almost $7 million in costs, $38,000 for a metal detection system is unwise, as that money could be used to finance field trips, teaching assistants, or technology equipment.

Airline crashes are one of the most publicized and sensationalized events that can occur. Whether it is a successful ditch in the Hudson, or an unsuccessful tragedy in suburban Buffalo, the news coverage is immense. However, air travel is still the safest means of transportation. Thousands more die every year in automobile accidents, but very few of us think twice about hoping into a car every day. The same is true with school shootings and school violence. The safest place for a child to be is in school, and installing metal detectors at 3 entrances will not make the students, faculty, or staff of Poughkeepsie High School any safer than they already are.

Over the past 11 years, I have spent a considerable amount of time at Poughkeepsie High School, both on a regular and semi-regular basis. Not once have I ever felt unsafe. Not once have I ever felt I was in danger. I believe that anyone who truly feels Poughkeepsie High School is in need of metal detectors has never spent any meaningful time there, and I encourage those people to do so -- especially the Board of Education, before they take their vote on this measure.