LGISD: We Have to Learn from Uvalde Tragedy

The La Grange I.S.D Board of Trustees heard another update on school security from district officials Monday night.

Superintendent Andy McHazlett said he recently read the 77-page Texas House Congressional Report on the Uvalde school massacre.

“We have to learn from this horrible tragedy,” McHazlett said. “That report really breaks down all the mistakes that were made. Our task is to learn from those and improve what we do so that, God forbid, anything happens here, we don’t make those same mistakes. We’re getting prepared.”

McHazlett said the report identified a lack of communication as a major failure in the law enforcement response. He said responding officers must be able to quickly identify entrances.

District Operations Director Sharon Muzny said her staff is working to label all buildings, classrooms and doors with vinyl decals.

“The best practice is to label all exterior doors,” Muzny said. “If you have to call first responders to the building, you can point them to ‘Door A-1’ instead of saying ‘the door where the bus drops the kids off,’ because they probably don’t know where that is.”

Muzny said district staff continue to evaluate doors to make sure all of them can effectively lock and keep out an intruder. She said the district is replacing hardware and, in some cases, entire doors and frames that are deemed unsafe.

Muzny said the district would also conduct a law enforcement open house this week to familiarize first responders with the layout of buildings on campus. In addition, Muzny said Texas Education Agency Region 13 officials will conduct a security audit when students return in the fall.

“They’ll look at our facilities and procedures,” she said. “We were hoping to have it done during the summer. However, their policy is to have it done when kids are in school, so they can see our inner workings when staff is present.”

McHazlett said he would also hold discussions with local law enforcement and the school’s resource officers.

“The biggest factor is, if you sign up for law enforcement, you need to put your life in front of others, especially children,” McHazlett said. “The congressional hearings are pretty much saying they did not do that. We have to make that understanding with our SROs (school resource officers). They have to under-stand, you’re here to protect kids and staff.”

Earlier in the meeting, local resident and former teacher Jan Hill spoke during the public comment period about school security. Hill, who has addressed the trustees in the past on this topic, again urged them to install metal detectors at the school.

Hill praised the school for installing security cameras, checking locks and doors, implementing a new transparent backpack policy and coordinating with local law enforcement.

“All these things you’re working on and the transparent backpacks are a step in the right direction,” Hill said. “But guns can still come in the school.”

Hill mentioned several exceptions the school made to the new transparent backpack policy, such as band instrument cases, athletic bags and lunch boxes. Hill identified two major obstacles to installing metal detectors – 1) staff to operate them and 2) the potential for “bottlenecking” at the entrances when hundreds of students arrive every morning.

“I would like for the school board or somebody to go to three or four different schools, research them, and see how they handle their metal detectors,” Hill said. “So many places already have them. My husband and I came from Houston in 1994, and all the football fields there already had metal detectors. They’ve been around a long time. We wouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel.”

Hill said she envisioned walk-through metal detectors at every main entrance to each school in the district.

“And keep all the other doors locked, not like in Uvalde,” she said. “I know Mrs. Muzny is already working on that.”

Hill also proposed walkthrough metal detectors at each athletic field and gym.

“I don’t feel safe at football games,” Hill said. “Because the rule is, you cannot bring your gun into the game. But, you know, the people who shoot people don’t read signs. My husband doesn’t bring his gun into the game because he’s a law-abiding citizen. But the non-law-abiding citizen might be there with a gun and a crazy idea. So I don’t feel safe there. I would feel safer if we went through a metal detector.”

Later in the meeting, McHazlett addressed the new backpack policy. He said the school made exceptions for band instrument cases and athletic bags because there are no transparent versions of those products readily available on the market.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” McHazlett said, adding that the school would continue to evaluate security policies.