The Woodlands Edition | October 2023

Education

BY CASSANDRA JENKINS, EMILY LINCKE, & HANNAH NORTON

Conroe ISD lays out alternative plan for armed security ocers The Conroe ISD board of trustees adopted a res- olution Sept. 19 declaring a good cause exception for House Bill 3, which relates to security ocers on campuses. Two-minute impact HB 3 passed during the 88th Texas Legislature this year, requiring school districts in the state to provide one armed security ocer on all campuses during regular school hours. However, the law allows school districts to claim a “good cause” exception and provide an alternative standard if they are unable to meet the require- ments due to a lack of funding or personnel. Quote of note “It is important to ensure that we weigh any

Texas school districts, police departments to receive Narcan All Texas police departments will be eligible to receive Narcan, an overdose reversal medi- cation, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Sept. 6. What you need to know Local law enforcement, independent school district police and police at higher education institutions can get a portion of 60,000 units of Narcan, according to a news release. The Texas Division of Emergency Manage- ment will distribute the medication to police departments. Legislative approach Following this year’s regular legislative session, the governor signed ve bills aimed at tackling the fentanyl crisis.

Fire department to practice with former Conroe ISD buses

Lone Star College to launch online bookstore

• At least one commissioned peace oficer is assigned to each secondary campus. • Oficers will be assigned to campuses clustered within a 1- to 2-mile geographic radius. • CISD Police Department oficers will continue to be assigned to each feeder zone. • Patrol oficers will remain available at all times within the district’s boundaries. CISD’s campus safety plan

Lone Star College’s new Virtual Book- store—which launched Oct. 1—will make book buying more ecient and less wasteful, according to a Sept. 25 news release. What to expect The Virtual Bookstore will feature: • New and used books, and e-books avail- able to buy or rent • Class supplies • An online marketplace for third-party sellers • LSC merchandise and spirit gear Students can request their purchases be delivered to on-campus locations.

The Woodlands Township bought four decom- missioned school buses from Conroe ISD to use for live training scenarios for The Woodlands Fire Department. Two-minute impact The CISD board of trustees approved the inter- local agreement at a school board meeting Sept. 19. The removal of the decommissioned buses will create space for more school buses on the district’s property. Terms of the agreement include: • After training is complete, The Woodlands Township will pay to take the buses to a recy- cling center for disposal. • The recycling center will issue a check to Conroe

The Woodlands Fire Department will use four decommissioned buses for training.

SOURCE: CONROE ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT

CASSANDRA JENKINSCOMMUNITY IMPACT

options carefully to ensure that we are providing the highest quality service to our CISD community,” CISD Chief of Police Matthew Blakelock said in a Sept. 21 email statement. Learn more Blakelock said the district has 78 peace ocers and 27 security monitors as of Sept. 21, and the district also has relationships with other law enforcement agencies in Montgomery County to provide additional presence and response to campuses.

ISD for the scrap value of the buses. Assistant Superintendent of Operations Chris McCord said the buses don’t serve the district in any way, and their removal will open up much- needed space in the transportation parking lot. “We have 113 parking spots in the Conroe Transportation Center that are formal parking spots for buses,” he said. “Between nding places for the buses to park and people that work at the transportation center, we have needs for people and/or buses to park.”

THE WOODLANDS 10491 Kuykendahl (281) 681-9110 FM 1488 3588 FM 1488 (936) 271-9606

RAYFORD SAWDUST 25044 IH 45 (281) 362-9131 OAK RIDGE NORTH 27490 IH 45 N (281) 296-6000

GOSLING ROAD SPRING 24527 Gosling Rd (281) 516-9404