Santa Fe ISD adds more officers and upgrades safety improvements as school year starts
SANTA FE, Texas (KTRK) -- As parents and community members prepare to send children back to school in Santa Fe, the district held a safety meeting open to the public.
"After the horrible thing that happened on the 18th of May, it's about time I got involved," said Amador Briones, whose grandson attends the high school. "My older grandson goes to school here and he lost some friends here."
The district announced a wide-range of security measures that include five new full-time police officers and four new part-time police officers.
They've hired 10 new security assistants who will add security presence to the district and monitor campuses.
An alarm and panic buttons were also added to the high school.
The entire front entrance of the high school was renovated to create a secure vestibule, where metal detectors are now installed.
The front entrance also has bullet-proof glass.
Five-hundred cameras will monitor who is on district's property, and 200 of those cameras will be at the high school.
Interior doors were upgraded to include the capability to lock from the inside and outside.
Metal detectors will be on every Santa Fe ISD campus.
"I go through an airport, you have to go through metal detectors and that's why it's a success in not getting weapons on board an aircraft," said Briones.
The district announced new ways to report bullying, programs to stop it and an outside company that was hired to monitor social media.
There will also be additional mental health and emotional support counselors, aids and comfort dogs available for students as they come back to school.
Parents and are encouraged to volunteer at school campuses and identify mental health issues at home.
Click here to see the first inside tour of Santa Fe High School from last week, since the shooting.
