BEND, Ore. – It’s often said, in hindsight, that hindsight is 20/20. And as Bend-La Pine Schools, worried families and a grieving community wrestle with what can be done to prevent a repeat of the Silver Rail Elementary School shooting, talk of more layers of protection – and the need to seek more money from the state, the feds and voters to do that – can all blur into a mix of complex reasons, strong promises – and to some, excuses for inaction.

Dozens of community members gathered Thursday evening to deal with those issues and seek solutions while providing imperfect answers to difficult questions. The session was livestreamed on YouTube by Bend-La Pine Schools, as they did for Wednesday evening’s meeting with Silver Rail families, where similar issues were raised.

When all is said and done, any big changes – panic buttons, razor wire atop fences, bulletproof windows – multiply dollars quickly when you are talking about treating over 30 schools with equal urgency.

A parent said she understood that a fifth-grade teacher saw the teen gunman jump the fence. If the school district had found a way to add panic buttons for staff to wear – something the Legislature recommended but provided only a year’s funding to implement – would it have made a life-saving difference?

“It is my understanding that a fifth-grade teacher saw (the gunman) jump the fence,” she said. “Could it have given us 30 second or a minute more? Could it have saved a life?”

Superintendent Steve Cook said the school district is “seriously interested” in adding whatever features are possible – panic buttons, privacy films for windows – but he and school board Chair Amy Tatom tried to make clear that state funding simply doesn’t cover that need, it’d likely take a bond measure. And she said many state laws are passed without full funding to implement them – “that’s the sad truth.”

But the parent voiced a tragically familiar response that no one would really argue with.

“The truth is, you can’t put a price on a life,” she said, “When do we look at this like this is life and death? Because it’s literally life and death.”

Cook couldn’t disagree, but put reality into the mix: “There’s not a magic wand to create perfect safety environments for schools.”

Perhaps the most touching question came from the youngest participant: Oliver, a student at Highland Elementary.

“I bike to school every morning,” he said. “There’s usually been police at the gate. It’s always very comfortable.” But he said some friends at the school “ask, how long are Bend police going to be at that gate?”

Bend Police Captain Brian Beekman thanked the boy for his question. He said the department has 20 to 25 police on duty at any one time, with six school resource officers assigned to the over 30 schools in the district.

He said they have now asked officers “to spend as much time at schools as possible. We try and do the best we can with what we have, but we cannot put an officer at every school.”

Still, young Oliver drew applause as he told Beekman: “I appreciate all of you guys.”

A parent who also is a school psychologist asked, as many have, how the district can better address students, like the 16-year-old gunman, who leave school and can fall through the cracks. While state law requires absent students be dropped from the rolls in 10 days, the district has created a registrar position to help in efforts to locate them and get them the support they need.