Increasing Security In GISD

In 2018, there were over 90 school shootings throughout the United States. Three of those school shooting incidents occurred in Texas.

Congress has devised a plan to use a bill to use the Every Students Succeeds Act to expand the authority of states, allowing them to use existing funding to strengthen school safety.

“I feel that with the increase [in] security, there won’t be many school shootings in 2019,” sophomore William Taylor said.

GISD plans to increase security in all schools for the safety of the students and teachers. The upgrades will consist of more cameras, upgrading the public address system, and securing entry points. The cameras will increase to a total of 3,500 in GISD. They will have 25 to 31 cameras in elementary schools, 70 to 80 in middle schools, and 115 to 135 in high schools.

“From our security office, if we see something on our 3,500 cameras that doesn’t look right, we can pick up the phone and talk into the school in the PA,” Garland Director of Security Pat Lamb said in a interview with American School and University.

Not everyone believes that just an upgraded security system will help ensure the safety of students and teachers.

“I believe that school shootings will continue to occur unless the current gun laws would change,” junior Diana Flores said.