Pittsburgh School Superintendent Talks Security At Local Schools

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- When a gunman killed 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Linda Lane says her first thoughts -- Pittsburgh.

"You begin thinking through your own safety, security measures as you begin to take in what is happening here," Lane told KDKA's Jon Delano.

"And you want to know the details of how this happened so you can figure out how it won't happen here. So, of course, that's where your mind immediately goes," she added. "And I know that was true for our teachers, it was true for our principals."

Lane says the Sandy Hook school's security was pretty good by traditional standards.

"I wouldn't fault the grade school for what they've done. Clearly, cameras on the door, the door was locked -- those are the exact same things that all of us believe need to happen," Lane said.

But it obviously wasn't sufficient.

So, should principals and teachers be armed in schools?

"Guns can be dangerous inside a school no matter who has it sometimes," she says.

Lane says educators are not trained, but she is open to hearing from security experts about armed guards.

In the meantime, she's collecting suggestions.

"We're talking school by school right now and getting emails from virtually all our principals around concerns -- whether a camera is broken or there is some other issue, something needs to be repaired -- we want to know about that," Lane said. "And then other concerns that they're bringing up, things that they think can help at a particular school."

RELATED LINKS:
More Pittsburgh Public Schools News
More on the Conn. School Shooting