The high cost of underfunding school security

John Randall Dennis is an ASIS ESRM Certified Security Risk Consultant and security advocateIt’s no secret that staffing shortages in public education are among leaders’ greatest challenges. McKinsey reports that 61% of leaders struggle to fill open positions, ranging from teachers and substitutes to administrators. One of the key reasons teachers cite contributing to their burnout is the lack of safety.

The Center for Homeland Defense and Security reports there have been over 700 shooting incidents in public schools since 2018. School shootings jumped 124% from 2020 to 2022. The National Center for Education Statistics reports over 80% of schools claim student behavior has substantially worsened since the pandemic. They report increased incidents of classroom student misconduct (56%), rowdiness outside the classroom (48%), and disrespect towards teachers and staff (48%).

Additionally, the NCES additionally reports that in recent years, 8% of teachers in public schools exited the profession and an additional 8% seek to move to another school. Additionally, other researchers have found the percentage of teachers expressing intentions to resign or transfer rose from 49% during the pandemic to 57% afterward.

Naturally, teacher burnout is fueled in part by fears for safety and wellbeing - anxieties which often contribute to mental health challenges and even detrimental to physical health. Teachers resort to seeking less stressful jobs. Who can blame them?

Let’s do the math

Based on NCES assumptions, roughly 15% of your teachers are “in play” and even more considering a change. Here’s what it costs your district to replace a teacher:

1. Recruitment: Promoting the position on job boards, attending job fairs, and other outreach efforts can range from $1,000 to $5,000.
2. Hiring: Costs associated with the interviewing process, including the time spent by administrators, travel expenses for candidates, and background checks, typically range from $2,000 to $5,000.
3. Onboarding: Onboarding (orientation, training, and initial support) can range from $1,000 to $3,000.
4. Additional Costs: There may also be indirect costs such as the productivity loss when filling the position or the cost of a substitute teacher during the vacancy period.

This means the average total cost of securing and onboarding a teacher reaches $13,000 or more. In metro areas, where costs run higher, you’re likely spending over $15,000.

Funding losses

These expenses do not include the impact on the brand reputation of your schools and funding losses related to parents fleeing to private schools or homeschooling due to safety. The amount of funding per student in public schools varies depending on your state, local funding sources, and federal contributions. However, as of the most recent data, the average per-student funding is approximately $15,000 to $16,000 per student per year.

The high cost of security mediocrity

Many district leaders still look at security as painful expenses to maintain compliance or to appease uneasy stakeholders. Consequently, their first instinct is to control costs by seeking minimal security solutions at the lowest cost. Their security measures are reactionary and project-oriented, without investing the time, energy, and money to build a strategic plan based on professional assessments. This can backfire at many levels:

• The solutions they implement make little or no impact on reducing incidents or risks,
• Their proclivity toward contracting the lowest bids result in unsatisfying outcomes; projects are usually delivered late and over budget due to unplanned change orders,
• The security integrators they choose are not properly evaluated - technicians are often under-trained and lack certifications in the technologies they install,
• School staff are often inadequately trained on the solutions and are get frustrated,
• Ultimately, teachers, staff, students, parents, and the board recognize nothing has changed and money is wasted.

The bottom line

Here are three “inconvenient truths”: Schools are unique in the complexity and criticality of their operating environments. Education leaders cannot be expected to be security experts. Our uninformed choices lead to unintended consequences.

Wise leaders rely on the counsel of trained specialists. Great leaders think strategically and act proactively - they consider the impact of security decisions on their entire ecosystem and culture. They publicize their focus on security to gain community appreciation and engagement.

Your extra efforts will not only reduce incidents and protect your schools from calamity - your attention to these dynamics will positively impact retention and student outcomes. 

John Randall Dennis is an ASIS ESRM Certified Security Risk Consultant and security advocate based in the Nashville, Tennessee area. He can be reached at: [email protected]