Story by Brandon Kim, Anna Xu

As school shootings have become more prevalent in America, Columbia Public Schools (CPS), as well as other school districts around the country, are hardening their buildings. 

The 2019-20 district budget allocated $200,000 to updating safety and security at RBHS. Subsequently, the bulk of this funding has been devoted to remodeling the North entrance, which is the only entrance accessible to students. 

To that end, protective measures combating school shootings are a $2.7 billion industry, and that figure does not include money spent on armed personnel monitoring campus, according to the Washington Post.

“Anytime there is an unfortunate tragedy somewhere in the country, we look at questions like, ‘What could have [gone] better? What are some of the best practices,” Community Relations Director Michelle Baumstark said. “It’s about the only positive thing that comes out of a tragedy, is that you learn more about how to keep buildings safe.”

Construction at North, however, will not be completed until “late fall” as critical components, such as the bullet resistant doors, are currently on back order, assistant principal Dr. Tim Baker said. Additionally, RBHS has not built a vestibule for a security officer yet.  

The new measures implemented at RBHS are not new to the district, Baumstark said. Battle High School and other new schools of the district were constructed with the updated safety features such as a one entrance system.

“What is called the hardening of an entrance of a building is not new for Columbia Public Schools,” Baumstark said. “The challenge now is going back to retrofit our older buildings. For example, Rock Bridge was built in the 1970s. Having to harden entrances in the 1970s was not something they were thinking about at the time.”

These entrance changes aim to monitor the movement of students entering the North entrance more effectively than the current and previous setups, Dr. Baker said. Last year, both students and staff used two entrances: North and South. To enter the building, a student buzzed an intercom connected to a camera. Secretaries in the attendance office would gauge the individual and ask how they could help him or her. If the person responded, “I’m a student,” the door would typically open for him or her.

In practice, however, there are many flaws to this system, junior Abigail Keaton said. For example, students can easily avoid using the intercom if someone opens the door for them, or after another student already buzzed in, and they are only a few steps behind. Additionally, the intercom system is not utilized before school or during lunch times. 

“I feel like my mother could say she’s a student,” Keaton said, “and they’d let that go.”

 Dr. Baker said the new process will solve the security holes of the former method because someone in person will be stationed at the North entrance behind glass. 

“Hopefully they are going to know you guys in pretty short order,“ Dr. Baker said, “and if someone comes in through that doesn’t feel right, doesn’t look right, [or] is carrying something suspicious, [the officer is] going to stop them and ask them questions.”

Some students view the added measure as idealistic. Sophomore Daniel Chapdelaine, however, doubts its effectiveness and said there are still unavoidable flaws.

“I don’t think it’s effective because one person won’t be able to stop a school shooter, Chapdelaine said, “and there could be a long line to get in.”

Chapdelaine also said the changes would impede on RBHS’s goal of “freedom with responsibility” by constricting student traffic. Dr. Baker agrees the “freedom with responsibility” culture at RBHS is important; however, he doesn’t believe the new system would damage it. 

Junior Andrew Kim is concerned about the possibility of bias from looking at students form appearance. He said that it could lead to racial issues and 

“I think it’s not effective to judge someone’s danger based on appearance because , and that could lead to bias issues,” Kim said.

“For the most part, you guys won’t even notice that person sitting there,” Dr. Baker said. “They’ll just let you come through and everything will be as is.”

Still, there are critics of the hardening approach. Some experts say schools overspend on protection measures when their focus really should be on preventive measures, such as more funding for counselors. Desmond K. Blackburn, a member of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission, said protective measures could  be used against schools.

“I don’t know how many situations exist in the security world where the potential ‘threat’ is in the cohort of people you’re actually protecting,” Blackburn said. “During all this education and training of what to do in the event of a shooting, the chances are the next school shooter is a current child who is listening to and hearing this education and this training. It makes [finding a solution] very difficult and complicated.”

The term security theater or a false sense of security is not a new concept for the hardening of a school, and these terms also can be seen in government agencies. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was called security theater when they failed 70 percent of the time in tests from the Department of Homeland Security in 2017.

Keaton believes the false sense of security may not be a bad thing.  All steps to improving security, she said, serve a chance to minimize threats. 

“It’s the start of something. I mean, clearly, [intruders] could still [find a way to] get in, but I feel like it will help,” Keaton said. “I mean, if [a school shooting] does happen, we will have more people to protect us.”

Baumstark said even if the changes seem drastic, they are necessary for the safety of the entire district. 

Our high schools are like small cities with 2,000 people in them,” Baumstark said. “It’s very big, so we understand that even minor changes are significant. However, even if it’s inconvenient, it’s the right thing to do.”  

Do you think that school hardening makes students safer? Let us know in the comments below.