WFISD not publicly releasing details of intruder detection report

On the heels of the Uvalde school shooting, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered surprise tests to see if an intruder could get inside campuses across Texas. A Wichita Falls ISD school was subject to one of these intruder detection audits.

The Texas School Safety Center tested the WFISD campus as part of efforts to improve security by sending inspectors across the state to determine how quickly they can gain access to campuses.

WFISD School Board members recently received a less than three-minute public briefing on the audit of the local campus, hearing from a school safety coordinator who said the results should not be shared publicly for security reasons.

During the audit, a minor issue was discovered.

"I just want to say that it’s a clerical issue. It was nothing more than that,” LeeAnn Haldane, WFISD police safety and security coordinator, said during a board meeting Tuesday, Jan. 17.

School Board President Katherine McGregor asked Haldane if Sam Houston Elementary School was audited.

Haldane said it's recommended officials do not discuss which school was audited until they go into closed session.

On May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, former student Salvador Ramos, 18, gained access to Robb Elementary School through an unlocked door to carry out a shooting that left 21 people dead and 17 injured.

More:Big changes at schools, violent deaths on the rise mark 2022 in Wichita Falls

Afterward, Abbott ordered the intruder audits as part of directives to shore up school safety in Texas. School districts have varied in their transparency about the audits.

For instance, while reviewing audit findings, a Uvalde school official discussed an inspector gaining access to an unnamed school's cafeteria, according to a CBS news report in December.

Other districts such as WFISD have released statements with nearly identical wording, revealing little more than that an inspection has taken place.

"We are working closely with our district's School Safety and Security Committee to ensure that we’re training all our staff and securing our doors for the protection of everyone at our campuses," Haldane said in a prepared statement during the meeting.

“The support from the state in conducting the intruder detection audits is just another of the many actions we’re taking to ensure our schools are safe," she said.

"We know that this work does not end, and we appreciate the board’s support on this," Haldane said.

She acknowledged that parents and community members are likely interested in the details in the audit results.

“However, it's in the best interest of the students that we do not share this information to the broader public as it could lead to compromising important security information,” Haldane said.

She said officials will discuss specific details of the audit in closed session and with the Safety and Security Committee.

Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Read her recent work here. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: WFISD school undergoes Abbott-ordered 'intruder detection audit'