On watch for schools

Auditor general gets an A for safety checks

As the federal government eyes measures for increasing school safety in the wake of the Parkland, Fla., shooting, state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale sees a role to play. He has pledged to double down on safety reviews he conducts of Pennsylvania schools.

The closer the look at school safety, the better. If necessary, other state agencies, such as the Department of General Services and Department of Corrections, should contribute personnel and expertise to Mr. DePasquale’s audit teams.

Mr. DePasquale’s school audits focus largely on finances and management. They’ve also included a safety component since the 2006 shooting at a one-room Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster County. In that incident, a man shot 10 girls, killing five, before turning the gun on himself.

Remarkably, despite that shooting and a string of others dating to the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado, Mr. DePasquale’s school audits still turn up security lapses ranging from a lack of student safety drills to inactive security alarms and failure to train staff on emergency procedures. The state police, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and state Department of Education all helped Mr. DePasquale develop the security “checklist” his audits measure schools against.

While Mr. DePasquale’s audits will continue to monitor such issues, he’s now planning to expand his safety reviews to encompass other topics, such as whether school districts give adequate consideration to security when building or renovating schools. It’s easier to incorporate safety into the design of a school than to retrofit a building later, so making construction and renovation projects the focal point of security planning only makes sense.

Given the epidemic of mass shootings, virtually every square inch of a school should be under 24-hour video surveillance, with the footage readily accessible to police. Construction planners should take into account how gunmen have entered and moved through schools so they can create safe rooms and escape plans. If analysis of such plans is beyond the bailiwick of Mr. DePasquale’s auditors, he should enlist the support of other experts in state government, such as officials at the Department of General Services in charge of maintaining and protecting state buildings and those at the Department of Corrections who know a thing or two about battening down the hatches.

Mr. DePasquale also said he’ll visit schools to ask students and staff members how his audits might better address security issues. That is a worthy idea. The student advocacy that’s emerged from the Feb. 14 Parkland shooting has shown that students have much to share on the topic. While some survivors of that attack are lobbying for gun control, the federal government so far is considering other measures, such as helping to arm teachers, a bad idea, and strengthening background checks, a good one.

Until now, Mr. DePasquale has provided the safety portion of school audits only to school district superintendents and school safety officers. Now, he’ll also provide them to police and the attorney general’s office so they can follow up on his findings and recommendations even if school districts don’t take the initiative. School officials shouldn’t have to be prodded on security these days, but Mr. DePasquale should push hard when they fall short.