2022 EDUCATION EDITION
DALLAS ISD
DALLAS ISD new security additions
DALLAS ISD
dallas isd spending
existing security measures DISD implements several safety precautions to keep students and faculty safe while on campus. DISD Police and Security Services Department o cers Youth action centers provide counseling to students who need assistance 200
campus crime stoppers The Campus Crime Stoppers program is part of DISD’s safety plan for students and sta . Students who call the Crime Stoppers hotline could receive a cash reward. Students who report incidents via the hotline remain anonymous. The Campus Crime Stoppers program is in operation at several
As it did for the 2021 22 school year, Dallas ISD plans to spend about $30 million from its operating fund on security and safety for the current school year.
DISD is adding new security and safety features to campus as part of the approved 2020 bond election. New campus security cameras will be equipped with motion sensors that provide o cials real-time alerts. Keyless exterior doors will be accessible by key card. A new weapons detection system will replace metal detectors at all middle and high schools. Will be provided for safety and security improvements in the district from the 2020 bond. $114.7M
2022-23 $29.79M of $1.87B operating fund
1.59%
Secure ID badges for employees, students and visitors while on district property Metal detectors at various schools Cameras at each campus SOURCE: DALLAS ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
2021-22 $30.3M of $1.85B operating fund
1.64%
secondary schools. The Campus Crime Stoppers hotline is 214-932-5622 .
SOURCE: DALLAS ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
security improvements in the district. Elizalde said work also has begun on improvements from the 2015 bond election, which includes the installation of an extra hallway at the entrance of each campus. The district’s website says it installed 400 metal detectors over the past two years at secondary campuses. DISD plans to also purchase 100 handheld metal detector wands for elementary campuses as a security precaution. School resource o cers RISD works closely with the Dallas, Richardson and Garland police depart- ments to hire city police o cers as school resource o cers, or SROs, to protect the district’s 55 campuses. These o cers are designed to inves- tigate potential threats, provide phys- ical security on campuses as needed, conduct safety audits and direct
said plans are in place for the district undergo a full third-party audit in the rst semester of the new school year. “Safety procedures and physical safety is part of [our] ongoing evalu- ations of campus and district safety planning,” Hayes said. At DISD, o cials said an assessment of the district’s safety policies of locked doors was done this summer. All cam- puses are also scheduled to have a review of safety and intervention mea- sures completed in August. “[School safety] is multiple lay- ers, multiple protocols—it is not one thing,” Elizalde said. “Communica- tion has been our No. 1 way of being proactive. If you see something, please say something.”
district preparedness for safety-related events and drills, RISD o cials said. “RISD safety and security sta are inside schools throughout each day to provide direction and support to cam- puses involved in a potential safety situation,” RISD Executive Director of Communications Tim Clark said in a statement. “Fortunately, a discovery of a rearm inside an RISD school is a very rare occurrence, but it is something school sta , district sta and police prepare for and immediately respond to if it does happen.” McGough stated in his memo that he believes the number of o cers cover- ing RISD is not enough. “Public safety is the top priority for our city, and to be the safest big city in the country, we must start by ensuring that our schools are safe,” McGough wrote in the memo. DISD funds its own police force with
a sta of approximately 200 o cers for the district’s more than 220 campuses. This police department costs the dis- trict about $17 million annually and works closely with nearby agencies. “Our partnerships are very import- ant for us, not only through guring out who’s going to be in charge and understanding protocols, but how we’re going to work together and com- municate amongst each other,” DISD Chief of Police John Lawton said. McGough cited in the memo the potential for creating an RISD police department that would “be responsi- ble for all safety and security issues.” Audit of security policies The Texas Education Agency announced in June that all school dis- tricts would be required to perform a safety audit designed to ensure best practices are in place. RISD o cials
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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LAKE HIGHLANDS LAKEWOOD EDITION • AUGUST 2022
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