Schools, Safety, and the Surge in Spending

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Give full credit to Veit Johnson
including our URL
 https://lifewithlovetoday.blogspot.com/
All Rights Reserved Copyrighted, /September 26, 2025 

Schools, Safety, and the Surge in Spending

In recent years, especially following high-profile school shootings and increasing concerns over violence, schools and districts across the U.S. have dramatically increased their investment in safety and security measures. These include:

  • Window films (sold as “bullet resistant” or “ballistic”) for windows and doors. Wall Street Journal

  • Cameras, facial recognition, thermal scanners and AI-based detection tools. The Daily Beast+1

  • Secure entry vestibules, metal detectors, automated door locks, ballistic panels, and other “hardening” features. The Washington Post+2CBS News+2

  • Anonymous tip-line/reporting tools and threat monitoring software. Dallas News+1

It’s not just individual schools; states have allocated tens to hundreds of millions of dollars for safety grants, programs, and infrastructure. Arizona Mirror+2Los Angeles Times+2

What Evidence Shows: Many Investments Don’t Deliver

Despite big spending, many of these measures have either failed to work as promised, been underutilized, or exposed as exaggerated in their claims. Key concerns:

  1. Overstated Claims vs. Reality

    • Window films marketed as bullet resistant often cannot stop bullets or meaningfully prevent intruders. Major manufacturers like 3M have made clear: such films do not offer genuine ballistic protection. Wall Street Journal

    • Some demonstrations used in sales pitches use low-powered firearms or thicker glass than what exists in real schools — making the product seem more effective than it is. Wall Street Journal

  2. Technologies That Don’t Function or Remain Unused

    • Thermal scanners or fever detection cameras bought during COVID sometimes fail under real conditions, e.g. reacting incorrectly to people who just came inside from heat, or simply sitting idle because they don’t integrate well with school routines. The Daily Beast+1

    • Tools or programs meant for threat reporting or monitoring are sometimes not adopted or publicized adequately. For example, the state-level tool iWatchTexas in Texas was expanded, but many school districts either did not adopt it or did not promote it strongly. Usage lagged. Dallas News

  3. Lack of Oversight, Poor Implementation, and Delays

    • Even when grants are allocated, schools/states sometimes fail to follow through: safety-related repairs (broken locks, inoperable systems) are delayed or not completed in required timeframes. The Washington Post

    • In Arizona, for example, safety grants totaling over $128 million were distributed to over 1,100 schools, but auditors found many schools failed to comply with all requirements (safety plan, needs assessment, properly trained personnel), yet still received funds. Arizona Mirror+1

    • In Iowa, a large safety fund remained largely unspent more than a year after allocated, due to bureaucratic delays and application requirements, while contractors got paid for assessments and planning. Los Angeles Times

  4. No Clear Evidence of Reduced Violence or Improved Safety

    • A study of literature from 2000-2018 found no school “hardening” measure with reliable evidence of reducing firearm violence in schools. The Washington Post

    • Some research suggests that visible/security features (cameras, metal detectors) may increase fear or lower students’ sense of safety. TIME+1

Why These Failures Happen: Root Causes

Understanding why so many serious investments underperform or fail can help in thinking about how to fix things. Some major contributing factors:

  1. Desperation + Fear + Political Pressure

    When people are scared — after a shooting or threat — there’s strong pressure on school boards and politicians to “do something” now. That makes expensive, visible solutions attractive, even if they’re not thoroughly tested. Vendors know this, and many profit from bold promises.

  2. Weak Regulation, Oversight, and Standards

    • Lack of clear evidence standards: Often there is no requirement that safety products or services be tested under realistic, independent conditions.

    • Weak auditing: Schools may get money without follow-up to confirm whether purchased systems are maintained, effective, or even in use. Arizona’s audit is an example. Arizona Mirror

    • Small staff or capacity for oversight: Even when rules exist, state education departments sometimes don’t have sufficient personnel to enforce compliance or do monitoring. Arizona Mirror

  3. Lack of Expertise or Mis-informed Decision-making

    School administrators may not have strong background in security or risk assessment, leading them to purchase products based more on marketing than actual performance. Sales pitches may exploit technical jargon, “buzzwords,” or overstate performance.

  4. Misallocation of Funds / Opportunity Cost

    Money spent on ineffective safety gear or features might divert resources from things that could have a bigger impact: mental health professionals, social-emotional learning, threat intervention, community building, and preventive programs.

  5. Implementation Challenges

    Even a well-designed product can fail if not properly installed, maintained, or integrated into school culture. For example, locking door systems that don’t work in emergencies, or cameras that are installed but not monitored or attended to.

What Works Better / What Could Improve

There are no perfect solutions, but some approaches look more promising or at least better grounded in evidence:

  • Focus on preventive measures: mental health supports, counseling, bullying prevention, conflict resolution, threat assessment and intervention teams.

  • Clear, evidence-based procurement standards: requiring proof of effectiveness under real conditions; third-party testing; transparency from vendors about limitations.

  • Strong oversight and accountability: follow-up to ensure systems are working, repairs are made, staff trained, and emergency plans prepared.

  • Prioritize community and climate building: fostering a safe, supportive culture can reduce risk.

  • Balanced approach: having security infrastructure (doors, locks, alert systems) where necessary, but not relying solely on “hardening” the school at the expense of human and relational interventions.

Conclusion

Schools’ efforts to increase safety are understandable and urgently needed. But money alone isn’t enough. Without strong evidence, oversight, clarity about what problems are being solved, and attention to what truly reduces risks, many well-intentioned investments end up failing — at great cost not just in dollars, but potentially in false assurance, opportunity cost, and even harmful side effects (stress, fear, surveillance concerns).

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