The district is completing over $14 million in safety and security improvements after voters approved a $698.33 bond proposition in 2023. The projects will allow the district to become compliant with school safety standards adopted by the Texas Education Agency in 2022, said Bryan Miller, LISD executive director of student support, at an April 25 board of trustees meeting.
The breakdown
The district has installed the following at its campuses:
- Forced entry-resistant film: $1.2 million
- Content filters: $500,000
- Fencing: $160,000
- Digital mapping system: $144,000
- Alert notification system: $100,000
- Panic alert system: $87,000
- Security cameras: $5.2 million
- Door handles: $3.1 million
- Network firewalls: $2 million
- Exterior lighting: $1.1 million
- Recovery appliances: $540,000
- Exterior door numbering: $152,000
- Exterior lockboxes: $150,000
The district is training staff and first responders on how to use a new system that digitally maps each campus, Miller said. All district staff may now alert first responders through the press of a button, according to district information.
LISD is working to number campus doors and install lockboxes that will allow first responders to access facilities. Another project will ensure doors automatically lock from the exterior, Miller said. The district is updating and adding security cameras across elementary, middle and high school campuses, he said.
Also of note
LISD received a safety and security grant that will help offset some of the bond expenses, Miller said. Additionally, district officials applied for a grant in April that would help cover additional bond funds, which could then be used for the district’s new police department.
The district is working to form its own police force as House Bill 3 has required districts to have an armed security guard at every campus since Sept. 1. District officials hope to hire a chief sometime this summer and begin hiring officers in late fall or early spring, Chief Financial Officer Pete Pape told Community Impact.
