The mere fact that 100 people packed into the Vicksburg Warren School District’s meeting room Thursday night shows that recent violence at Vicksburg High — and finding a solution to curb that violence — is being taken seriously.

Waiting more than 90 minutes to address the board, parents were in agreement that student safety is the primary concern. The meeting stemmed from three separate incidents of school violence at Vicksburg High, the latest occurring on March 20 when, it was initially reported, that 50 students were brawling in the school hallways. Nine students were removed from school in what officials later discovered started as a fight between two young girls.

With safety must come an increased emphasis on discipline. Consequences must fit the actions. One parent said students now treat discipline as a joke — and that affects students who genuinely are interested in getting an education. That, remember, is the key for all of our young people — to get an education.

Without a quality education as a foundation for life, students will find themselves on a path to failure. Teenagers often cannot, or do not, see the big picture of their future and the importance education will play. Teachers, administrators, parents and adults have been down the educational road. They know the pitfalls that can accompany an uneducated person, and they know the heights that can be achieved with an education.

Three meetings this past week involving Vicksburg High have been the right beginning to solving a problem. But it cannot be the end. Much work still has to be done to ensure that all of this community’s children have the opportunity for an education in a safe, serious environment.