Posted by Tonya Kerr on Tue, Jan 11, 2011 @ 08:37 AM
Millard South High School assistant principal Vicki Kaspar, 58, left, and principal Curtis Case, 45, are seen in photos released by the school. (Millard Public Schools/Associated Press)
Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the assistant principal and principal at an Omaha, Nebraska, high school who were shot this month by a 17-year-old student who had just been suspended from classes.
Assistant Principal Vicki Kaspar was killed, the principal was wounded, and the student eventually shot and killed himself with his father’s police weapon.
By all accounts, the school utilized numerous safety precautions such as a school resource officer, an unarmed guard, security cameras and a check-in procedure which the student followed.
The student’s father, a local police detective, had just talked with his son hours before, and the assistant principal welcomed the student into her office just minutes before she was fatally shot.
Undoubtedly, school officials are already reviewing their security policies, but no one should forget that potential tragedies like this are a constant threat to the professionals and volunteers who work with our youth every day.
While no one advocates running our schools like maximum-security prisons, there are no easy answers to the debate of freedom versus safety.
Nothing guarantees the well-being of the people who serve on the front lines of our nation’s schools.
But as Kaspar’s colleagues tout the legacy of her dedication to her job, may her colleagues and others across the nation continue the ongoing quest to keep our students and faculty safe in our schools.
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