Sarasota seeks input on school safety

SARASOTA (FOX 13) - School safety is on the minds of everyone, especially students like 12-year-old Gabe Blethen. 

"I'm kind of worried, but not that much. I don't really know. Maybe there should be more security," he said. 

The latest school shooting seems to have touched everyone.  Third grader Ivy Gill said it's made her a little worried. 

"We should have more people watching our schools. We just need more support for our schools," she said. 

Six-year-old Clover Blethen agreed.   "I think everybody should start talking about friends and family and be more safe.”

It's a conversation parents find themselves having more often. 

"It all comes back to home. Trust your support network," said Jesse Marshall. 

Marshall and his family work to let their kids be kids.  But it's a conversation they can't avoid. 

"You never know what's going to happen or when. Preventative measures is the number one step," said Marshall. 

The Sarasota County School district agrees.  They've set up this email address: Schoolsafetyfeedback@sarasotacountyschools.net and want the community to email them with ideas for improving school safety. 

"I can sit down and brainstorm school safety ideas, but the more minds that work on that issue, our kids are in our schools every day. They see schools in a different way. Our parents are in our schools and they see it differently," said Superintendent Dr. Todd Bowden. 

In less than 24 hours, Bowden said more than 400 emails poured in.  Each will be read.  

Lessons will hopefully be learned, but Bowden said school safety will continue to evolve.  

"There will never be a point in time that I can look you in the eye and saw we are 100 percent. I will tell you our schools are safer today than they were yesterday and our schools will be safer tomorrow than they were today, but there is no 100 percent," he added.