The state School Building Authority met Monday to tackle several issues. But the topic on everyone’s mind was the mass shooting at the Connecticut elementary school back on Friday.
Over the past five years, the SBA has granted more than $35 million to upgrade security systems at schools throughout the state. SBA Executive Director Mark Manchin says it was money well spent.
“I don’t think there’s a school you can go into today [in West Virginia] that does not require being buzzed in with locks,” according to Manchin.
But in the case of Newtown the gunman was able to shoot through the glass of the school doors and gain entry. Manchin says that’s why the SBA is constantly looking into the latest technology.
“3M company has a plastic that withstands a gunshot,” Manchin said. “It might blow out a window but you still would not be able to get through that door.”
Manchin says cost is not a consideration when it comes to student safety.
“We’re going to continue to explore and expend funds to make sure that our children never have to endure what these poor children in Connecticut have had to endure,” the SBA executive director said.
According to Connecticut authorities, from the time the gunman arrived at Sandy Hook Elementary, it took police 10 minutes to make it to the scene. Here in West Virginia, Manchin says it would not take that long.
“We have been able to find that a 911 call, even in rural West Virginia, in less than five minutes somebody will be there,” he said. “The first responders will be there. In this instance, it could have saved lives.”
Ultimately, Manchin says no school can promise that each and every child will be safe inside its walls. But he believes, as in the past, there are lessons to be learned.
“We learned from Columbine. We learned from Virginia Tech. Hopefully we can learn from Newtown,” he said.