After Uvalde shooting Kingsville ISD upped its security measures. Here's what's new.

Kingsville ISD officials outlined new security measures Thursday evening, including increased staff presence and new technology.

Over 50 people filed into H. M. King High School's dome gymnasium in Kingsville for the meeting, finding seats in the stands as school security staff, local law enforcement and Kingsville ISD superintendent Cecilia "Cissy" Reynolds-Perez addressed them from the basketball court.

The meeting began with a discussion of the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center's report on the attack on Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. The report found that before the attack, a teacher at the school had propped open an exterior door with a rock. Though the teacher had returned to the building and closed the door before the shooter attempted to enter, the teacher did not confirm that the door was locked and did not have the proper tool or key to lock it.

After outlining these findings, Reynolds-Perez detailed implications for Kingsville schools, which will be tightening protocols, and looking out to make sure rules are followed. The district will also no longer allow members of the public to walk on the high school track during the school day and will be requiring students and teachers to register their cars.

"If we see a propped door, we'll have cameras, we'll see who it is and there will be documentation immediately," she said. "We are not going to put up with that."

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Reynolds-Perez called on families to help prevent students from skipping class and to end a common practice of bypassing secure entrances to meet students at the back of the school to drop off lunches or picking them up.

The district is also providing local law enforcement with key card access to school buildings so that in the event of an emergency, officers will not have to wait for a key to engage an attacker or rescue victims.

The district also plans to purchase emergency panic button lanyards for each staff member. If pressed, an alert would be sent out not only in the school, but also to law enforcement.

Before Uvalde, the district had already approved hiring additional security staff for the upcoming school year. Now, the district is preparing to train and arm the expanded security team through a Guardian program. The security staff will be authorized to carry firearms on school property.

Reynolds-Perez said that only security staff and a few other district leaders will be armed, so as not to burden teachers.

"I do not believe in teachers being armed because teachers have enough stress on their mind with having to instruct children," Reynolds-Perez said.

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The security team will be monitoring school grounds, Reynolds-Perez said. Additionally, the district is launching a "Parents on Patrol" program, where vetted volunteers will be keeping an extra eye on campuses as well.

This summer, the security team has been visiting each district school to conduct walk-throughs to catch any deficiencies.

Though the district will not be implementing a clear-backpack policy, it will be conducting random bag checks, Reynolds-Perez said.

The district also hopes parents will help the schools by communicating with their children.

"If you listen to the interviews from the parents of the shooters, they will say 'I had no idea'," Reynolds-Perez said.

She recommended monitoring social media and working together with the schools if a child is troubled to connect them to mental health resources.

"If you see something, say something," she said, reminding attendees that threats can be reported anonymously on the district website.

A Uvalde police officer saw the shooter outside the school with a rifle and asked his supervisor for permission to shoot the suspect, but did not here a response and chose not to engage. Community leaders vowed that local law enforcement would not hesitate or delay.

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"There will never be a time where there's a delay in Kleberg County," Judge Rudy Madrid said.

Kingsville Police Chief Ricardo Torres assured attendees that the first goal of his officers in the event of an attack would be to stop the killing.

"What happened in other places will not happen," Torres said. "I can guarantee you that. We can look no further than (several) months ago."

In November, Kingsville police officer Sherman Benys, Jr. was shot in the line of duty, exchanging gunfire with a suspect while officer Celinda Gonzales herded children at the scene to safety. Gonzales also exchanged gunfire with the suspect. Benys died.

Last month, Benys and Gonzales were recognized with awards for valor by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.

Currently, the department is coordinating trainings with the schools. It also offers training for civilians.

During an audience question and answer session, Kingsville parent Arnold Perez, who will have two children in elementary school next year, asked how long the district will be able to support the enhanced security measures.

Reynolds-Perez said that as long as she is with the district, security will not decrease.

"That was my main concern," Perez said after the meeting. "If we get into a great security stage, but then we don't have the money to pay for it in ten years."

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Kingsville ISD upped its security measures. Here's what's new.