Local school districts boost safety measures

Clarendon and Hedley schools have beefed up security measures this year as state officials step up pressure in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting May 24, which killed 19 students and two teachers.

Superintendent Jarod Bellar said while most things haven’t changed at Clarendon CISD, the school has made a few changes and is being more vigilant about campus access.

“Your heart goes out to the people in Uvalde for the tragedy they are having to deal with,” Bellar said. “I feel like some of the stuff coming from Austin is knee jerk reaction but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

Some parents have already noticed changes in the way students are picked up and dropped off in the elementary school, particularly classes in the school’s D-Wing. Bellar said those changes were implemented because of how that building is isolated from the main campus.

“We’re just trying to limit access, and we want parents to understand that we’re just trying to take care of their kids,” he said. “Our first responsibility is to take care of those students and staff within our walls.”

Clarendon officials are considering putting phones in all classrooms so teachers will have better access to communications in the event of an emergency. Bellar said the proposed phone system would also be tied into the bell system and could be used for alerts such as severe weather developments.

Parents at this time are also not being allowed to eat with their children in the cafeteria, but Bellar said he hopes to relax that rule as the year progresses.

“I don’t want to be impersonal, but I do want safety to be first and foremost,” he said.

The state performs safety audits of schools every three years; and although Clarendon is not up for a full audit, it has already had some mini-audits and an intruder audit will be coming later this year.

Bellar said someone with TEA will come and test the school’s security in a non-threatening way; and if they can get in, they will see how school personnel react to a stranger in the building.

Bellar himself is checking exterior doors daily and other personnel are checking exterior access points throughout the day.

In Hedley, Superintendent Garrett Bains said officials are doing more of what was being done already and paying close attention to access to the campus.
Bains said school officials are also looking at installing “auto lock” doors throughout campus that are already in Clarendon.

“Right now everybody in the state is trying to beef up security during a supply shortage,” Bains said.

Hedley is due for its three-year safety audit this year, and both superintendents expect the Texas Legislature to make more security requirements next year.