$25 down, $999,975 to go.

In a Close To Home column published in the wake of the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., Santa Rosa Teachers Association President Andy Brennan advocated against calls for arming school teachers. A better strategy, he said, would be to invest in the installation of “Columbine Locks” on all classrooms doors.

Columbine locks are locked from the inside with a key, meaning a teacher does not have to exit the classroom to secure a door. It also means that to door won’t open even if glass is broken and someone reaches in.

In his opinion piece, Brennan estimated that equipping all of Santa Rosa City Schools with Columbine locks would cost Sonoma County’s largest school district $1 million. Brennan also wrote of the district’s impending budget shortfall and the deep cuts the district has already endured.

To that end, he suggested readers make donations for the purchase of the locks directly with the district.

On Wednesday, the board is expected to accept a laundry list of donations made to various schools. The final item on the list is a $25 donation to the district for Columbine locks. It’s the first such donation published since Brennan made his appeal.

To read Brennan’s original piece, click here: http://bit.ly/YzXYIG