From news service reports

WOODLAND PARK, N.J. – The Record, a northern New Jersey newspaper makes a stunning – yet correct – statement: parents should be more concerned about sexual predator school employees than armed intruders.

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EAGnews will soon be releasing a series, titled “Sextracurricular Activities,” looking at the major problem within our schools: sexual predators who are aided and abetted by administrators, fellow teachers and unions.

In the meantime, The Record’s NewJersey.com brings attention to the problem:

IN THE wake of the shootings inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., parents across New Jersey are debating how best to protect their children in school. While the possibility of an armed intruder entering a school is low, there is another threat to student safety, one already inside schools: sexual predators.

Just this week, a former Lyndhurst High School football coach admitted having oral sex with a 17-year-old female student. And in Paterson, new criminal charges were filed against a male high school teacher who was arrested last month, charged with soliciting sex from a male student. That teacher now also is charged with three counts of promoting the prostitution of a child and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

The majority of our teachers and coaches are good, caring people. They dedicate their lives to educating and molding our children. But it seems that barely a week goes by without hearing of new allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of some teacher or coach. …

We, as a society, are focused intently on preventing gun violence in schools because of several horrific shootings across America. But an insidious threat – one that is more likely to affect children in the suburbs and urban centers of New Jersey – is not receiving enough attention in municipal halls and in Trenton.

Parents need to ensure that their children know what constitutes inappropriate contact with a teacher or coach. School administrators need to do a better job of vetting all district personnel, and every district in New Jersey should have clear, written policies on appropriate conduct between faculty and students, including the use of social media. There is a heated national debate about who should own a gun and whether there should be armed adults inside schools. That debate should continue. But New Jersey children are more at risk from sexual predators who tarnish the good image of teachers and coaches than they are from armed intruders. A statewide debate on this is long overdue.