MCKINNEY, Texas — McKinney Independent School District (ISD) has received nearly $400,000 in grant funds from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to supplement school safety and security measures already in place.
MISD’s Safety, Security and Transportation department reviewed the district’s grant proposal along with the MISD Safety and Security Committee and approved it back in February, according to the district’s press release. The committee is made up of board members, district and campus administrators, members of the McKinney Police Department, members of the McKinney Fire Department and Office of Emergency Management, and additional community members.
“Our first priority is always the safety of our students and staff members,” said Chief Communications and Support Services Officer Cody Cunningham. “Everything else comes after that. While we have great confidence in the safety and security program that we have in place, we always look for opportunities to enhance what we already do and routinely evaluate our practices to ensure that we have created the safest possible learning environment.”
Over the next year, the district, which has 21 elementary schools, five middle schools, three high schools, and two learning centers, will use the funds to:
- Add 140 security cameras to the estimated 1,600 already in use
- Add more lockdown buttons at each school, providing multiple activation locations for staff
- Install additional alarm-activated, emergency strobe and sound devices
- Upgrade its district-wide 24-hour intrusion alarm system to include remote door monitoring that sends an alert if a door is left open and allows for more efficient access for emergency responders
- Refresh the district’s Aiphone entry system, which allows school employees to verbally and visually identify visitors before granting them access to the building
- Upgrade its security camera server by expanding the storage capabilities
According to the press release, in the past five years, MISD has also:
- More than doubled the number of security cameras across the district
- Quadrupled the number of security cameras on school buses
- Refined staff and student emergency response procedures
- Added more school resource officers (SROs)
- Hired hall monitor security personnel for each high school
- Installed security vestibules on all campuses
In June 2018, a student took his own life inside an empty classroom at McKinney North High School, causing some students and parents to voice concerns over security at the school. An online petition was posted calling for mental health screenings and a way to prevent weapons from coming onto campus.
