‘Every educator’s worst nightmare’: School leaders react to deadly Texas school shooting

PITTSBURGH — “My heart broke for those families. Just tragic. It’s every educator’s worst nightmare,” Sto-Rox superintendent Megan Van Fossan told Channel 11′s Gabriella DeLuca, as she was holding back tears.

At Sto-Rox, all schools have metal detectors and wands. Everyone goes through them except kindergarteners through third graders.

“You always have to (go) back and really look and learn from these tragedies. What happened, why did it happen, and what do we need to do to prevent that from happening at our own school,” Van Fossan said.

Similarly, most Pittsburgh public schools have metal detectors and security personnel, and all classroom doors lock from the inside.

Districts are able to apply for school safety grants through the state, where they’re able to get money to go toward equipment, programs and school resources.

South Allegheny’s superintendent told Channel 11 that their district has benefited from grants. They were able to add a number of safety features to their schools, like new cameras and reflective film so you can’t see into the windows.

As for Sto-Rox, they can’t get all the funding they need.

“The reality is, it allows us to pay for things for very short periods, or pay for part of the cameras we need, or metal detectors. Other districts get more money, and when we look at the money we get, we don’t get enough,” Van Fossan said.

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