Officials decide against demolishing Columbine High

DENVER >> A Colorado school district trying to stop people obsessed with the shooting at Columbine High School won’t demolish the building as a way to deter intruders, officials said in a letter released Wednesday.

Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Jason Glass wrote that a community survey on what to do about the high school in suburban Denver showed mixed reaction to knocking it down.

The district had floated Columbine’s demolition because of what Glass called its “inspiration” for people with a dark interest in the 1999 shooting that killed 12 students and a teacher.

Officials cited a constant presence of people trying to enter the building or being on the grounds without authorization, including a record number this year on the 20th anniversary of the shooting. This year, security staff contacted more than 2,400 “unauthorized” people on Columbine’s campus.

In April, a Florida teenager who authorities say was obsessed with the shooting and may have been planning an attack in Colorado just ahead of the 20th anniversary was found dead in an apparent suicide.

A search for the teen prompted officials to close public schools throughout the Denver area.

Glass said Wednesday that the district will create a better-defined perimeter around the school to deter intruders and increase student privacy, among other measures.

While Columbine “is now arguably one of the safest schools in the world, the ‘unauthorized individuals’ problem at the school must be addressed,” Glass said.