Santa Fe schools OK safety upgrades
Changes at the high school will include more locks, panic buttons, bullet-resistant glass
Santa Fe ISD’s Board of Trustees agree to spend as much as $1.7 million to make security-minded renovations to the high school nearly two months after a 17-year-old gunman walked in and killed 10 people and wounded 13 others.
Santa Fe ISD’s Board of Trustees approved as much as $1.7 million Tuesday evening to make security-minded renovations to the district’s sole high school nearly two months after a 17-year-old gunman walked into the school and killed 10 people and wounded 13 others.
Among the most substantial changes will be renovating a large swath of the northwest portion of the school, where the art classrooms and the majority of the shooting occurred. Construction crews will seal the interior entrance of the two art rooms and demolish the interior, although trustees did not decide the future use of the rooms.
In addition, a corridor will be carved out of the existing weight and athletic offices, which will allow students to walk from two technical classrooms and locker rooms to the heart of the school. A portion of a large hallway that led to the art rooms will also be sealed and will be used as a storage space. New counselor offices will be constructed near the band hall.
Panic buttons and a new alarm system will replace the school’s current fire alarms. Locks will be installed inside every classroom door. A new, larger security vestibule will greet visitors and students when they walk into the building, complete with bullet-resistant glass and glazing.
Some changes will be ready when students return Aug. 20, but others, including the bulletresistant finishes to the entrance’s security vestibule, will not be completed until September.
However, some at the meeting and a community gathering across town questioned why one item wasn’t on the agenda: metal detectors.
Board President JR “Rusty” Norman said there is still time to install metal detectors, if the
board opts to add them to Santa Fe High. Other items, such as the drastic renovations to the high school approved Tuesday, needed to be approved more quickly.
“There are things that are very time-sensitive. We have to move forward, and there will be other things we will vote on in time,” Norman said. “I can assure you metal detectors are being discussed, along with many other items.”
He said a 32-person safety and security committee would likely decide on whether to recommend the use of metal detectors and other measures at a closed Thursday meeting and would present their recommendations to the board at a special meeting scheduled for Monday.
Still, some parents were frustrated that the district had not yet accepted several free metal detectors offered by two companies and 10 pledged last week by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
“Do you know what day it is? This is July,” said Charles Neiman, whose 15year-old son who attends Santa Fe High. “School is going to open — it’s not like we have a lot of time.”
Almost as soon as trustees finished voting on the high school renovations, a separate group of about 100 parents and community members gathered at Santa Fe’s City Hall to voice concerns over how long changes took to be approved and a lack of communication from the district.
Rosie Y. Stone, whose son, Chris, was killed in the May 18 shooting, told those gathered that they needed to voice their concerns with the district and become more active at board meetings and district functions.
“I don’t have my son anymore, but y’all have your kids. And y’all are the only ones who can make a change, and if you don’t stand up now, how do you know what’s going to happen three weeks from now?” Stone said. “I minded my own business, and look where it got me.”
The group gathered at City Hall is part of an informal parents group called the community committee. Mark Bratcher, who helped create the group, said it spawned after he and others grew frustrated with a lack of information and communication from the school district. The committee, which is not officially affiliated with the school district or school board, held its first meeting two weeks ago. Tuesday’s gathering was its fourth.
He said he understood district officials have been working overtime but stressed a need for more parental involvement.
“Now we’re forcing communication,” Bratcher said as he stood outside City Hall. “We’re going to keep the pressure on, and keep a positive pressure on.”
Norman said part of the reason changes have taken so long is because the district is trying to engage the community through the safety and security committee — which is composed of parents, community members, first responders, district officials and others — and through surveys and messages from parents.
“Let me remind you that when this first started, what we heard more than anything from the public is let us have a voice, let us have some say,” Norman said at the board’s special meeting. “We tried to work best we could to manage that.”
Norman, who also attended the city hall gathering, added that he is open to participating and hosting more community meetings where district officials can answer parents’ questions and receive feedback for potential security measures. Other trustees did not attend for fear they would violate Texas’ open meeting laws.
“Santa Fe does not mind being the catalyst to create change when it comes to school safety,” he said in an interview after the City Hall meeting.