Santa Fe ISD increasing police at campuses
SANTA FE, Texas (AP) — The Texas school district where eight students and two teachers were fatally shot last month has implemented security measures increasing the number of police officers and guards on campuses.
The Santa Fe Independent School District said the increased security presence began Wednesday at the district’s four schools southeast of Houston.
A district spokeswoman on Thursday didn’t specify just how many additional police officers and security guards are planned or what the cost may be. The U.S. Education Department last week announced that the district will receive a $1 million federal grant, and Gov. Greg Abbott has said the state will have access to nearly $70 million in federal and state grants for school security measures he wants implemented.
Officials also want to hire more counselors to identify Santa Fe students exhibiting signs of mental health disorders, while flagging other students who appear prone to violence. The steps introduced in Santa Fe align with recommendations Abbott has made following a series of recent roundtable discussions he held on school shootings.
Also Wednesday, a district police officer and a student who were injured in the May 18 Santa Fe High School shooting were released from the hospital.
Officer John Barnes was discharged after spending weeks in intensive care, according to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Barnes suffered a gunshot wound to the elbow that severed veins and caused a significant loss of blood. His wife, Ashley Barnes, previously told the Houston Chronicle that her husband’s heart had stopped twice before being revived by emergency personnel.
Also discharged Wednesday was 16-year-old Sarah Salazar, who was shot while seeking cover in a supply closet, the Chronicle reported. Two of her classmates died next to her.
Salazar — who was visited in the hospital by pop star Justin Timberlake and Houston Texans All-Pro J.J. Watt — had surgeries to repair her jaw.
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Do you think the Planning and Zoning Commission should have approved the zoning change for the Mystic Canyon development?
The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-3 in favor of approving a zoning change request for 56 acres to accommodate the Mystic Canyon development during last Tuesday's meeting.
The zoning change request stirred controversy because the land is undeveloped greenspace over the environmentally-sensitive Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, and because residents of adjacent neighborhoods voiced numerous concerns about the development including traffic issues, worsening drainage when some houses are already in danger of flooding, and losing habitat for wildlife.
The commission first heard the request to change the zoning of that acreage from Future Development to Single Family-6 a month ago and held a public hearing. A motion to deny the request was left on the table when the commissioners decided to postpone their decision until the applicant, Jim Ladner, had reached out to the public about Mystic Canyon.
Several residents spoke in favor of the development during public comments, noting that Ladner has seemed willing to address the concerns of the residents in neighborhoods near the proposed development, but most public comments speakers were not as keen on the development.
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