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Killeen ISD trying to ease security, safety fears as students, staff return to campus

The district addressed existing and new ways to keep students and staff safe at a community forum Monday evening.

KILLEEN, Texas — During a community forum with staff and parents Monday night, Killeen Independent School District announced changings that are coming regarding safety and security during the upcoming school year.

District leaders provided an overview of ongoing practices related to school safety, as well as new items the district is implementing as a result of the tragedy in Uvalde at Robb Elementary School.

"We have to be very vigilant in ensuring that we're not only following our safety procedures and protocols much of which we presented this evening, but also drills, and doing everything as proactively as we can," Killeen ISD Superintendent Dr. John Craft said to the crowd of staff and parents in the auditorium at Shoemaker High School.

The community forum followed with a Q&A where attendees wrote down their concerns for district leaders to address.

One Killeen ISD father, who is also a teacher, wants better security and safety measures at school.

"I know that everyone is complaining about money, but I would rather pay more in taxes to make sure that my child is safe," he said.

The questions district leaders read out loud form attendees addressed many issues that reports have showed Robb Elementary School ran into on the tragic day like doors being left open.

"We recognize that it's a problem and so there will be these disciplinary consequences to ensure that students are not holding doors opened up," Craft responded to one question.

Other questions were about law enforcement response and who would be in charge if there was an intruder or active shooter on a campus. 

The district's Police Chief Ralph Disher explained how they deal with training for a crisis. He told the crowd that his department made up of 30 officers are all ALERRT trained, work with other local law enforcement and have stimulated weapons to practice for a crisis.

"We're not going to hesitate to go in and if it ends up being one of us dying along the way to save people, that's what we signed up to do and that's what we're gonna do," Disher said.

The district's Safety Director Charles Kelley said safety audits are being done before school starts at the request of Gov. Greg Abbott. But also, KISD does audits on their own times throughout the school year.

RELATED: Texas Education Agency requiring districts to do exterior door safety audits

Kelley said a feeling of unsafe should not interrupt education.

"Especially on students if they don't feel safe -- they're they're not going to learn," he explained.

Some other changes in safety protocols for the district in the upcoming school year include high school closed campus lunches, more training being available to staff and even students, adding peep holes to doors and weekly exterior door checks.

Disher is just glad people understand the important of security.

"It was good to see parents come out, participate, have some really good thought provoking questions and show that they're as concerned about safety as we are," he said.

The KISD Police Department will have an active shooter training Thursday.

If you didn't make it to the forum Monday, the district is having another one Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Eastern Hills Middle School cafeteria.

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