Editorial: District makes a secure decision

In the wake of the Newtown, Conn., massacre last month, school officials across the nation have been taking hard looks at security on their campuses. Burbank Unified School District leaders, aware that Emerson Elementary School was the only one of the district’s 11 elementary sites without a buzz-in security system, this month approved a modest $9,000 expenditure to shore up security there.

The new system at the school on East Cypress Avenue will, most importantly, buy some time for front-office personnel to alert emergency responders if a potential intruder appears, potentially saving lives of children and educators alike. A new security camera and intercom system will also be installed, adding extra layers of protection.

Burbank officials say the new security system being installed at Emerson is superior to the systems in place at other district campuses. If voters approve Measure S in March, authorizing the district to issue $110 million in bonds, officials would like to use some of the money raised to retrofit the other schools’ security systems to match Emerson’s.

Safety and security are paramount for our children. While no security system can provide a 100% guarantee that deranged individuals with automatic weapons will never kill another youngster, we believe the Burbank school board did the right thing in acting quickly to correct this deficiency.