School security is a hot topic these days, as school districts all over America work with security companies to devise the best plans to keep offenders out. No one wants a repeat of the Columbine or Amish school shootings, and even Lake Highlands offered a lesson in the dangers of permitting outsiders to bring in muffins for teachers. So what’s a good district to do?

Lake Highlands High is now a more secure place, with newly redesigned front offices opening this week with tighter security controls and restricted access to the building. Several districts in north Texas are even installing new scanner systems that check visitor driver’s licenses against sex-offender databases, according to an article in The Dallas Morning News.

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But will all these high-tech gadgets and controls really work? I admit to being skeptical. The new systems identify sex offenders but not convicted murderers, wife-beaters, or child abusers. And even visiting parents who are "hits" on the sex offender system are permitted to enter the building and retrieve their own children.

I long for the good old days, when everyone knew everyone else. At LHHS, visitors must stop at the door, sign in, and leave their driver’s license before being permitted to enter. It’s great for security, but it’s a pain if you are just popping in for a moment or arriving to volunteer. I fear that the more hassles we insert into the system, the more the "good" folks will just stay away. As usual, we all pay a price for the misdeeds of a few.