Last week, the Peters Township School District made headlines for two incidents at the high school. One day, loaded shotgun shells were found in the parking lot. The following day, the school was on high alert after a threatening note was found in the bathroom.

While it was determined that the shells fell from a car, the threats contained in the note were severe enough to attract the attention of not only school administrators but also local law enforcement. Before being permitted to enter the school, students were individually checked with a metal detector, their bags were checked and two specially-trained dogs were on school property.

Some may contend that school officials over-reacted in this situation. When it comes to the safety of our children, though, why leave anything to chance?

The report indicated that, overall, less than 4 percent of students were involved in reportable incidents statewide. Assaults on students dropped 17 percent from the previous year and firearm offenses fell 35 percent.

Although assaults on school staff dropped 18 percent from the year before, threats against school officials or students jumped from 1,929 in 2004-2005 to 2,814 - an increase of nearly 50 percent.

A random search of threats against students and teachers or administrators in just the past month is quite startling. Last week, two students were suspended in Grove City after a "murder list" was found which contained the names of nearly 50 students and teachers. In New Jersey, two high school juniors were arrested for a similar list. Two such hit lists, targeting nearly 40 students, teachers and administrators, were found in a Maryland middle school. In Cleveland, police found a loaded handgun stashed near a school after officials had found a note which threatened to blow up the school.

Closer to home, in mid-March, Monroeville police were called to look into two hit lists containing the names of nearly 60 students and teachers. The lists, which called for those named "to die," were allegedly created by middle school students.

In this day and age, every threat, whether believable or not, must be scrutinized. Certainly, no one wants a rampage such as what was witnessed in 1999 in Columbine, Colo. or last year at Virginia Tech.

We support any and all actions taken to ensure safety in our schools, including punishment for students who are involved in any such incident. It's time students learn that these hit lists and threats are neither amusing nor fun and games.