As a parent of three children who were educated in Auburn and a grandmother of school-age children, I have more than one question for our Auburn School District.

1. Why exactly one week before the tragedy at Sandy Hook was I able to walk uninvited into an elementary school in Auburn that – to my knowledge – had very few or no security measures in place?

2. When our school district spends $110 million to tear down Auburn High and build a new one, just how safe will our students be?

3. When will we be told the cost of strong security measures at our local schools?

4. Will I be offended if I have to pass by metal detectors to enter school buildings?

5. Will I be OK with armed guards in front of schools? You bet.

6. Should we consider bullet-proof glass for classrooms? I’d go for it.

I have learned that some people in Auburn feel as I do. Why ask us to pay for a beautiful new school when we may learn all too late that our children were not really safe in a fancy new building.

Without properly thought out security for school buildings in America, we will continue to see the horror stories playing out all too often on our TV screens.

– Virginia Haugen