CCISD commissioned a school safety advisory committee after the Uvalde tragedy intended to review school safety policy and make recommendations to staff. Here are some recommendations the committee made to the CCISD board of trustees at a July 11 workshop meeting.
Since the Santa Fe shooting in 2018, CCISD added 15 additional officers to the district: one for each of the five comprehensive high schools and one for each of the 10 intermediate schools, totaling three for each high school and two for each intermediate. Officers at intermediate schools are assigned to also patrol nearby elementary schools. According to Assistant Superintendent of Support Services Paul Miller’s presentation, this currently amounts to one officer supporting two to four elementary schools.
The recommended security staffing update would add five additional officers to the district to assist in patrolling elementary schools. Miller said the additional coverage will result in an officer being assigned to a maximum of two elementary schools instead of the current maximum of four schools.
“We will maintain our current staffing structure at high schools and intermediate schools as part of this plan,” Miller said.
According to Miller’s presentation, hiring the new officers would cost $425,000 annually, and the cost of new vehicles and equipment would be $200,000.
“We anticipate there will be funding from the state for school security in the next legislative session. As the funding becomes available, as we are fully expecting to become available, we will re-evaluate our school security staffing levels at that time,” Miller said. The next state legislative session will begin Jan. 10.
Additionally, the committee recommended the expansion of community outreach programs like Watch D.O.G.S., the volunteer program for father figures to participate in campus security. Miller said consistent training for volunteers and an “evaluation system for its effectiveness related to school safety” were included in the recommendation.
In terms of security systems, Miller said the committee seeks adding room and exit numbers to all campuses. This includes room numbers being added to exterior windows and identifying numbers added to exit doors for ease of access for law enforcement and first responders.
Miller said the committee intended to establish student panels for them to provide feedback on the school environment and safety issues as ongoing changes are made to the district.
“[The committee] did stress strongly to avoid making schools feel like prisons,” Miller said.
The committee recommended a “signs of concerning behaviors” training program for staff and faculty that was required and frequent, taking place throughout the school year instead of just at the beginning of the school year and during onboarding.
Miller said the committee’s recommendations are currently being implemented, including the addition of door alarms and notifications as soon as the fall 2022 semester. The next step for the committee is submitting a formal recommendation to the July 25 school board meeting to amend the contract with the Galveston County Sheriff Department to add the five officers to the district.
