Thursday, May 2, 2024
As incidents of school violence continue to rock the country, school leaders, including those with the Gatesville Independent School District, look for ways to keep students as safe as possible.
GISD Superintendent Barrett Pollard shared information about security and crisis planning with the GISD Board of Trustees during a board meeting on June 20.
"In the wake of the Uvalde tragedy, a lot of parents and community members are concerned about what we are doing to stop it (an incident involving an armed intruder) here," he said.
One of the breakdowns in the law enforcement response in the Uvalde school shooting was related to authority.
"Our SROs (school resource officers) have the ability to go to shots fired and don't need to check first," Pollard said.
He added that experienced officers will be allowed to use their expertise to respond to crisis situations.
"Another thing you wonder about is if our officers would be out-weaponed," Pollard said, adding that police on GISD property would be provided with any necessary resources, including the options of assault weapons and shotguns "so they can go toe-to-toe" with an armed intruder.
Officers serving GISD will have a master key that will allow them entry to wherever they need to go, Pollard said, "but to be on the safe side, we will also buy breaching equipment" that will provide access to areas which may be barricaded or otherwise secured.
Keeping classrooms locked to prevent unauthorized access is also important, he said.
"The expectation is that the teachers will lock their classroom doors and will get written up if they don't do it," he said. "I don't like that in the Uvalde tragedy there have been scapegoats – there was one bad guy in that situation (the shooter)."
Protective film will be added to windows that allow staff and students to see out but do not allow people inside to see in, and SROs will have their radios with them at all times.
Attire such as trench coats that could be used to hide weapons will be prohibited, as well as large duffle bags.
"We considered requiring clear backpacks but decided against that as being too much," Pollard said, adding that the kind of firepower used in mass shootings does not typically fit into a backpack.
Students and staff will be required to have their IDs at all times, and one major change is that cafeterias will not be open to visitors – with the exception of uniformed law enforcement – during school hours.
"We decided not to open lunchrooms (for security reasons)," Pollard said. "If parents want to eat lunch with their kids, they will need to check them out (of school) and take them off campus (during their lunch period)."
In the event of a mass shooting or threat, Pollard said that Gary Stiles, who has been named the GISD Police Chief, would be in charge of incident response.
GISD board member Mary Anne Leib said she talked to a board member from Uvalde who said there continue to be lots of unanswered questions about what was done and what could be done to prevent such attacks at schools. She added that the new measures taken by GISD were a "good list."
"Unfortunately, you learn something new after each mass shooting," Pollard said.
Board member Calvin Ford asked about the possibility of getting a higher fence surrounding some school playgrounds.
Board President Charles Ament said the things Pollard mentioned were "on the proactive side. Is there anything being done on the preventive side, such as mental health (assistance)?"
"One thing Gatesville is ahead of the curve on is social workers (assisting students and families)," Pollard said. "Some other school districts have balked at the cost."
"In almost all shootings there were all kinds of signs (of troubled individuals who later lashed out)," Ament said.
Pollard said it is important to provide resources to help abused or neglected students and doing so could help prevent future violence.
A lot of times, other students or staff may even be aware of a concern before it becomes a full-blown crisis, Ament said.
Ford asked if metal detectors were being considered.
"It's a balancing act of how prison-like do you want it versus how much like a school atmosphere," Pollard said. "We do borrow metal detectors to use before each graduation."
Limiting the number of entrances and exits to each campus are among the steps being taken, Pollard said.
He proposed a program originally referred to as Dads on Duty, but changed to Friends on Duty in order to be more inclusive, to help provide additional security.
Volunteers would have a background check and would be issued a vest and could walk around campuses to help make sure they are secure, Pollard said.
"That offers an extra set of eyes on campus to walk outside and inside and check doors – just simple things like that."
Pollard said current or former law enforcement or military would be especially welcome to participate.
"It's a good option for the schools, if (the volunteers) see something they can say something about it. The main thing is, can we get some people to actually do it."
