We’re hoping that the Memphis City Schools Board of Commissioners keeps the metal detectors and X-ray machines issue in perspective.
Yes, the price tag is $4.5 million sounds like a lot of money.
It’s just worth remembering that the city school district spends more than that every two days.
The amount is also less than one-half of one percent of the entire budget.
That’s why, from where we sit, it’s a small price to pay for parents of Memphis City Schools students to be given peace of mind when their kids enter school each day.
While there are many questions remaining to be answered on a proposed police department within Memphis City Schools, the decision about metal detectors and X-ray machines seems clear.
Despite the hysterical coverage of every school incident by television news, these problems are actually rarities for the city district. But the daily checks provided by this new technology go a long way in making even these few incidents more unlikely.
As for news coverage, it’s interesting how much the preconceived opinions of reporters can factor into coverage of school crime. For example, in the years that Cordova High School was part of the county school district, it was ignored by the media. After it was transferred to the control of Memphis City Schools, overnight, to listen to media reporters, gangs sprang up like mushrooms and crime was commonplace.
And nothing had changed except the name of the district on the school letterhead.
