The recent spate of shootings at school campuses this fall--from the five young girls killed at the Nickel Mines Amish School in Pennsylvania, to the teenage girls brutally murdered at a high school in Bailey, Colo.--has forced school administrators once again to take a close look at their safety and security initiatives. And, not surprisingly, many school districts are turning to new technologies to enable them to say these familiar words to concerned parents, students, school board members, and community residents: "We're doing everything in our power to make sure that we don't have another Columbine on our hands."

Of course, school districts must weigh security concerns against other pressing budgetary demands. And even the most sophisticated security measures in the world won't necessarily prevent random violence on school campuses, experts note.

Since Columbine, the terrorist attacks of 2001, and similar acts of violence, "the new normal is increasing the use of technologies to make campuses more secure," says Ronald Stephens, president of the National School Safety Center in Westlake Village, Calif.

But the effectiveness of that approach is problematic, notes Stephens, because violence has taken place even with preventive measures in place. "We're seeing a lot of schools looking at things such as proximity readers, student ID cards to control access to different areas of the campus, metal detectors, and cameras. But no system is perfect, and despite all the high technology, the most effective strategy is the physical presence of a responsible adult," says Stephens.

Other experts also warn that technology isn't a panacea. Kenneth Trump, president of Cleveland-based National School Safety and Security Services, cautions against an overreliance on technology. "We say there has to be a balance between hardware and heartware," Trump comments. "Any type of technology is a supplement to, but not a substitute for, a comprehensive school safety program."

Many schools have not mastered the basics of security and emergency prevention, according to Trump. While staff members might have been trained in security issues, their replacements might not have been, and too often training gets cut in the face of budgetary constraints.

"Technology can be useful," Trump agrees, "but the first line of defense is a well-trained, highly alert school staff."

Financial constraints have made it difficult for many school districts to purchase state-of-the-art security technologies, Trump says--and even when schools can afford them, it can be a huge challenge to choose the right technology products and services. As a recent study on school safety initiated by Gov. Mike Easley of North Carolina concluded, many school administrators lack expertise in selecting school safety technology. The study strongly suggested that the state of North Carolina "gather experts in technology, education, and law enforcement with input from private industry to recommend solutions." The report also recommended that the state consider ways to help school districts acquire new technology. Some North Carolina schools lack automated telephone-calling technology to communicate crisis information immediately to parents and lack basic two-way communication between classrooms and the main office, according to the study.