On April 18, Wootton High School senior Alex Ye was arrested for allegedly planning a mass shooting at Wootton and a local elementary school.

On April 19, a trespasser at John F. Kennedy High School brandished a knife when approached by a student at the school.

On April 23, bomb threats at Wootton and Albert Einstein High School forced evacuations at both schools.

All of these incidents were near-misses for MCPS. Luckily, in each case, a combination of the FBI, the Montgomery County Police Department and school security were involved to prevent a bad situation from getting even worse.

But MCPS’s action to stem the tide of this rise in security problems has been lethargic. Student member of the Board Sami Saeed introduced a resolution to address school security back in October 2023.

But when the district reported back to the Board on the issue earlier this month, their answer was that they had recommendations for next school year and beyond.

Security is not an issue that starts next year. It is already an issue for MCPS, as we have seen so clearly from the barrage of incidents last week. Taking action for the next school year is not good enough.

More action on the issue of security is needed and it is needed now. So far, a lot of things have gone right, but all it takes is for one thing to go wrong.

The rise in school security incidents is a ticking time bomb. Are we just going to close our eyes with the detonator in the palm of our hand?