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" Do you know this WILL happen again? How many times has it happened before? What are the odds it will happen again? Do you know that is a plot against the school? This is what I mean by defining the problem and making sure it is not just an isolated incident. To panic without giving thought leads to bad decisions which will costs everyone in the long run. Do quit being a drama queen, screaming the sky is falling, until you can either prove it is actually falling, or are holding a piece of it in your hands. Drama queens belong on stage, not making educated decisions. "

" So, you have the inside on criminal activity in Pontiac. You know that this will not happen again? This is only an isolated incident and has put the fear of God so no one would ever consider doing this again? Take you blinders off man!!! You have entered the 21st century and these are violent times. Doing something about it now, shows progress and that is what you need. Nothing will be 100%, but there are alot of things in life that aren't 100%. Your taxes will go up, no matter what the reason, so why not have your taxes go up for a good cause-PROTECT THE STUDENTS!!!! "

" I am saying that IF a problem is occurring that needs to be rectified, then the problem needs to be fully defined and steps taken to resolve the issue in it's entirety. I am tired of seeing my tax dollars being thrown a "chicken little' problems that do not need to be resolved, and at issues where the solution is half baked, incomplete, and does nothing but suck my tax dollars into a black hole without truly resolving the issue. If hysteria demands a solution, then let those 'chicken littles' pay for the solution, and see how big of a problem they really think it is then. "

" You stated "you either have to run it like a prison, including extra staff, or you just throw money at it and pretend it is all better. " So, you suggest we just ignore it and hope it doesn't happen again-an isolated incident as many call it. Then if and when it happens again, feel free to front the cost of the funeral or medical bills. Oh, and don't forget the cost of the psychiatrists and couselors that will be needed to help the other students not physically harmed in the incident. Or better yet, lets ask the students how they feel now and what they want. Leave it to them, the staff and the administration, and law enforcement officials. "

" There are Police Officers that work in the school, right? What is their job description? They are the ones that can be at the metal detectors in the morning. Even if you had to hire a private/armed security firm, they still are given the power to hold someone that refuses to comply. As far as paying for the Police to respond. They are on duty, it is their job to respond, they do not get a stipend for responding to calls. So, there is not extra fee. The kids file through the metal detector and keep moving along, it works, I've seen it. The cost for electricity is minimal, if you even notice a difference. Handing things through windows, interesting but how is that going to happen when the instructors are in the classrooms with these students? "

" You will also have to pay for security staff to run them and monitor that kids do not hand stuff around them. You will also have to pay for police officer time when one is set off, and either the person refuses to empty their pockets or continues to set them off even when they have. You also have the cost in electricity. PLUS if people can still hand stuff through windows, they can be circumvented. So in the end, you either have to run it like a prison, including extra staff, or you just throw money at it and pretend it is all better. "

" Ok, after discussing the metal detector issue with the owners of a couple of security installation companies. The cost of metal detectors will run approx. $30,000 - $50,000. These are the walk through detectors. It was also stated that these machines are virtually maintenance free, with the exception of a clean up of dust and dirt occasionally. But then again, the cost of a funeral runs $10,000 - $20,000. What makes more sense? "

" What I am saying is the either a fully comprehensive plan needs to be made, budgeted, and approved, or it will not increase the kids safety. Unless all possibilities are covered, or the 1 that was not ends up costing a kid their life regardless of how much 'progress' is made. What is to prevent the kids from passing guns through a window? How about knives made of non-ferrous materials? What you are saying is that you are willing to force others to spend money so you can feel good about yourself, but the kids will still be in the same risk assessment. "

" Ok, so you offer a suggestion to resolve this problem. I have personally seen the effects that metal detectors have in schools. In the time that I have worked in the two worst neighborhoods in the City of Chicago-Roseland and Englewood-I can count on one hand the number of times I've been to the schools for violence. None of these acts involved a weapon. So, let's talk again how invaluable it would be to have metal detectors. Or you can continue to do nothing about it until it happens again, with a possible worse outcome. Is that what you want to do, ignore the situation? Do you know the cost of metal detectors? Do you know what the maintenance costs are? In the end what you are saying is progress isn't really worth our children's safety. Halfway solving a problem is showing progress. "

" When they are circumvented, you have to now pay the money to close that loophole, or the initial money is moot. There is a saying, where there is a will, there is a way. Unless you want each child assigned a personal cop who will watch the child 24/7, you will not be able to prevent all angles in which incidents can occur. It is illogical to halfway fix a problem which still results in the problem. So in the end, you either end up with something that now costs a fortune, or something that is not worth the money it costs. I am all about protecting children, I am against throwing money at a problem and pretending it is all better. "

" I have a niece that attends PTHS, so I do have family there. What people do not understand is that it is never 'just some metal detectors'. You have increased costs maintaining and repairing and increased cost in operation of them. You have to have staff there to monitor the machines and check the kids that trigger the alarm. You have police needed to respond when nothing can be found, yet the alarm still goes off, or a child refuses to comply. In the end, the costs add up and up. In the end, some kid will find a way around them...(cont) "

" you want to wait to see how many more times this happens? Why? Why would want to wait. Does it take physical harm to justiy spending a little money on metal detectors? And what's a few bucks compared to the safety of your children. You have children at any of the Pontiac Schools? I do not, but it still rips me up to see the mentality of people. As I've said before, this is the same metality that is in denial of all of the problems that exist in Pontiac. We are living in an increasingly violent world, why wait to chance whether it will happen again? "

" My point is that unless their is a defined trend, spending oodles of money to fix something that is not broken does not make sense. IF a defined problem can be found, then by all means it should be addressed, but to ask tax payers to front the bill on yet another project where the costs would far outweigh the benefits is ludicrous. Americans need to prioritize their tax spending, and quit through money at problems. It does not make sense to spend $2 million on security if the problem occurs at a frequency to make the cost too much to justify. "

" yes i think parents and teachers should have more rights to make their kids mind the parents don;t know what goes on in their kids life their to busy they need more family parenting "

" Seriously JD, what you are saying is that this one event is no big deal. It is that mentality that causes things like this to happen. You are probably the same kind of person that thinks Pontiac is immune to anything the outside world might be suffering from. It's time to face facts, even in small town USA, you are prone to violence, drugs, gangs, etc. This is the 21st Century. It's not a matter of being chicken little, it's a matter of being street smart and so naive. Metal detectors at that school are long overdue. Security cameras are great, a police presence is great, but how does that stop another student from bringing weapons into the school. You need a deterence. Does it really matter the cost when it is your child's safety? And does it really matter what the reason was the weapons were in the school. That really sounds like you are justifying having the weapons there in the first place. The fact is they were there, who cares for what reason! "

" How about we strip search every student daily, search their vehicles, their lockers, and even their body cavities! Seriously, this was one event, and according to reports was linked to attempting to get money for drugs and not violence. Parents need to quit acting like chicken little, and screaming the sky is falling for every isolated event. Either that, or cough up their own money for the things they would like to see implemented. That alone will cause many to shut up. "