During its Aug. 14 meeting, the Tomball ISD board of trustees approved the installation of controlled-access equipment on all elementary campus exterior doors by Custom Access & Integration LLC. The new security equipment—including buzzers and cameras—totals more than $605,000 and is funded by the $275 million bond referendum approved in 2017, according to district information.

Visitors to elementary school campuses must now show valid identification and answer a series of questions, Chief Administrative Officer Chris Trotter said.

Trotter said the district made a number of improvements to its security features and plans ahead of the 2018-19 school year. Trotter presented a safety and security update to board members at the meeting.

This year, TISD’s secondary campuses will feature metal detector wands as well as portable metal detector walk-thru units at its high schools to be used for random searches, Trotter said.

However, Tomball Star Academy and Connections Academy previously implemented metal detecting devices, Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora said during the meeting.

Additional tools to improve district safety include a new partnership with Social Sentinel—an advanced warning system that alerts district officials to safety threats shared on public social media accounts—and security officials attending Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training this summer. TISD also added medical training opportunities and adopted emergency operations and reunification plans. Last year, the district implemented Anonymous Alerts—a reporting platform for bullying and safety threats.

“Safety and security has always been important in our district; however, with recent events and ongoing occurrences in schools and in our nation, we’ve done quite a bit [to improve safety],” Salazar-Zamora said.

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