Given the recent spate of school shootings one state lawmaker in Wisconsin is asking that very question.

MADISON, Wisconsin (AP)—A state lawmaker, worried about a recent string of deadly school shootings, suggested arming teachers, principals and other school personnel as a safety measure and a deterrent.

It might not be politically correct, but it has worked effectively in other countries, Republican Rep. Frank Lasee said Wednesday.

“To make our schools safe for our students to learn, all options should be on the table,” he said. “Israel and Thailand have well-trained teachers carrying weapons and keeping their children safe from harm. It can work in Wisconsin.”

I’m not 100% opposed to this idea, but I’m not sure it is the most efficient way of making our schools safer.  Giving teachers guns means training them as well.  And if we’re going to require that public school teachers be armed that means those teachers are going to want to be paid more.  So that means taxpayers will have to foot the bill for guns, training, additional teacher pay and probably increased insurance for the schools against liability lawsuits, etc.  Plus, some teachers just flat-out aren’t going to be qualified to handle a gun, or will perhaps simply refuse to do so.  And let’s not forget that a lot of parents may be upset at the idea of their children being in a classroom with an armed teacher.

The whole situation could turn into a mess very quickly.

I think a better solution to security in schools is a solution I’ve been proposing for all the other problems we’ve been seeing in our schools: School vouchers.

Vouchers would tie school funding to the student, meaning that whatever school parents choose for their child that’s where that child’s share of public funding will go.  When parents weigh the various academic qualifications of each school they can also weigh the various security situations as well.  That way parents can choose a school that has security measures in place that they’re comfortable with.

Rather than having the government try to find a one-size-fits-all security solution for all the schools in a given state or even the nation as a whole, let’s give parents the power to decide which school is best fit to educate their children and protect them while they’re in class.

Update: I think the vouchers approach is especially pertinent as President Bush and national education leaders discuss solutions for school safety.  I just don’t think a federally, or even state, mandated security solution is going to solve the problem.  There are just too many variables and too many opinions on this subject.

Better to empower parents so that they can make decisions about schools and school security independently.