Speak Out: Should Montgomery County Elementary Schools Be on Lockdown?

Cameras in and outside of school buildings and systems that prompt visitors to be “buzzed in” are part of major security upgrades proposed by the Montgomery County Board of Education for the county’s 132 elementary schools, WTOP reports.

The security additions were proposed in response to the December 2012 massacre of 20 children and five adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT.

In May, board members discussed adding additional safety features for schools in the Capital Improvements Program budget, an outline for long-term budgetary items between fiscal 2013 and 2018. The proposed safety system, which would require $4.1 million in county aid to match state funds, is before the County Council.

"These are school buildings, not prisons," Councilwoman Valerie Ervin (D-Dist. 5) of Silver Spring, told WTOP.

Click here to read the WTOP report.

What do you think? Do elementary schools need more security? Tell us in the comments.