Be vigilant in protection of our children

EDITORIAL

   Since news broke of the recent lapses in school security — first, premature departure on April 25 of a pair of disgruntled first-graders, followed by a student’s report of being accosted by a stranger in Auten Road Intermediate School — we’ve been hearing from a lot of parents.
   We’ve been hearing from outraged parents of young children, wondering if they can feel secure that their kids are being monitored while at school, wondering if their child could slip by a teacher or playground aide and wander off.
   It’s a compelling nightmare for any parent — there are really only two times parents usually feel they don’t have to worry about their kids: when the kids are sitting right in front of them at the dinner table or when they’re assumed to be sitting in a classroom.
   We’ve also been hearing from other parents whose kids have been left behind when the school bus departed, or left the school grounds or otherwise ended up in a situation where they were in the no-student’s-land between the adult supervision at school and the adult supervision at home.
   We’ve also heard from a few who wonder how much security it will take to prevent future incidents from happening.
   We’re sure school board members are wondering that, too.
   Of course, neither incident would have happened if Hillsborough schools were gated compounds, but certainly no one wants to see that happen.
   Shortly after the incidents, district personnel were advised to monitor their charges more closely, to be more suspect of people in school hallways who aren’t known to belong.
   The district has also asked for additional police patrols near schools.
   Many will want to see more done, but we doubt there’s much more that can or should be done without sending the wrong message to our children.
   We don’t mean to minimize the dangerous circumstances that made it possible for two 7-year-olds to take a hike in the middle of the day, but we all have to ask ourselves how is it possible no one reported seeing the pair for nearly an hour?
   It’s inconceivable that there weren’t motorists who must have seen them walking along Sunnymead or Falcon Road and thought nothing of it.
   We all get a little complacent. We’re not lackadaisical, just complacent enough so that at some moment the inconceivable will happen.
   Even the most cautious and careful parent knows the pain of the momentary lapse of attention that allowed their child to fall or bump or scrape into something they shouldn’t have been near.
   When it happens, it’s a reminder to pay attention, to keep your guard up.
   And that’s the lesson we hope all draw from these incidents — there’s no need to take drastic measures, there’s a need to remember that we have to be careful, cautious and curious.