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UPGRADING SAFETY
As part of the 2019 Conroe ISD bond, a total of $44.5 million was included for safety and security updates. Schools in the Conroe area will see a total of $4.56 million in improvements. Montgomery and Willis ISDs are also investing in safety and security upgrades this school year.
MONTGOMERY ISD SECURITY $5.34 MILLION was set aside for safety and security upgrades in MISD’s $326.9 million bond approved by voters in May 2022. These funds will be used for:
LOCAL CISD INVESTMENT BREAKDOWN
perimeter fencing for campuses; radio upgrades; and security cameras.
Upgraded security cameras
Radio signal ampli er
Upgraded re alarm system
Exterior door/access control systems
6.66%
12.83%
Generator replacement
Exterior security lighting
Upgraded re sprinkler system
19.62%
CANEY CREEK HIGH SCHOOL
ARMSTRONG ELEMENTARY
Total: $4.56M
Other security initiatives in MISD include:
2 POLICE OFFICERS
$87,566 approved in June to implement student and sta ID cards in 2022-23
10.96%
$152,000
$65,000
29.6%
added in scal year 2022-23, totaling 7 new o cers since 2020
$180,000
$420,000
20.28%
6.69%
$245,000 total
$500,000
RUNYAN ELEMENTARY
CONROE HIGH SCHOOL 9TH CAMPUS
$300,000
Newly formed CAMPUS PARENT SAFETY COMMITTEES to meet once per semester per campus to assess safety concerns
$1.37 million total
$100,000
$250,000
CREIGHTON ELEMENTARY
$200,000
$300,000
$300,000 total
$550,000 total
WILLIS ISD SECURITY
$125,000
CONROE HIGH SCHOOL
WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL
Trustees approved a 9TH SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER July 13. $65,000 was approved for the additional o cer’s salary.
$125,000
$152,000
$125,000
$750,000
$300,000
$520,000
$1 million total
SOURCES: CONROE ISD, MONTGOMERY ISD, WILLIS ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
$645,000 total
$452,000 total
Montgomery, Willis ISDs In MISD, about $5.34 million was set aside for safety and security improve- ments in the $326.9 million bond pack- age approved by voters in May, which includes funds for perimeter fencing for campuses, radio systems and secu- rity cameras, Morrison said. “As we build Elementary No. 7, it will be built with all the things—the sensor detectors, the secure vesti- bule, the perimeter fencing [and] cameras,” he said. At each of its campuses, the dis- trict is implementing ID badges in the 2022-23 school year that students and sta will wear on campus to help spot unidenti ed guests more easily. Mor- rison said he believes the ID badges are necessary to maintain campus safety with the growth in the district. “When people hear that we grew 500 students from the start of last year to the end, you just can’t know every student anymore immediately,” he said. Each campus will also have a campus parent safety committee this year, Mor- rison said. The committees will give parents the opportunity to give input and suggestions on safety measures. In addition, the district is upgrading
closed and locked even if they’re going out to their vehicle for two min- utes to grab their drink.” The district also approved two additional police o cer positions in late June. “The last two budgets we have added police o cers. This isn’t a new thing because of what happened in Uvalde; we’ve been adding police o cers every year,” Superintendent Heath Morrison said in an interview. From a national perspective, Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource O cers, said he anticipates there to be an even greater need for a security presence in schools across the country following the May 24 shooting in Uvalde. “We have experienced fairly steady growth since [the 1990s],” Canady said. “School shootings drive the demand [for security in schools]; there is no question about it. I wish it was not that way, but it is.” CISD adapting security One security update in CISD that has been accomplished over the past year is an overhaul to the district’s radio systems, which was estimated
to cost $3.6 million, according to bond documents. “Anytime you talk about prepared- ness or crises, communication is one of the biggest issues,” Blakelock said. He said the new radio system extends to safety outside of schools as they are also in buses. Previously, the radio system was localized and limited in range, and if a bus had an emergency, multiple calls would have to be made before the issue could be resolved. There has also been an increased focus on preventive measures at CISD. “We do not want people to be com- placent; we want safety to be on their mind every day,” Blakelock said. “We are always looking at new technolo- gies that work for us and are a good solution—things like a panic button solution as a potential option for the district, adding security cameras where there could be vulnerabilities and increasing the sta to manage those and looking at ways to control access to the building.” Among the physical changes planned for schools across the district are more limited, secure entrances. “If you go to any of the campuses now, you will see they have a secure
vestibule [at the front entrance],” Blakelock said. “Someone has to be buzzed in, and before they can enter a campus, they will have to be buzzed in through another door. The actual structures of the buildings have changed, ... so we have the most secure environment.” In Conroe, Armstrong Elementary, Caney Creek High School, Conroe High School and Runyan Elemen- tary are among the campuses that will see bond-funded improvements, including upgraded security cameras, extended radio signal ampli ers, lim- ited access to doors and the addition of emergency generators. The costs of the upgrades total $245,000 at Armstrong, $300,000 at Runyan, $1.37 million at Caney Creek and $1 million at Conroe High, includ- ing the ninth-grade campus. The school district is in its third phase of completing updates from the bond, and according to a March meet- ing of the CISD Safety and Security Committee, the phase will continue through the end of 2022. The fourth and nal phase is anticipated to start in early 2023, according to informa- tion presented at the Aug. 2 school board meeting.
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