Tomball ISD seeks nearly $970,000 from prior bond for districtwide physical security upgrades

Tomball ISD staff presented a plan on Jan. 13 to upgrade the district’s physical security systems and asked trustees to authorize $970,156 from the 2021 bond fund to complete the work.

Jason Piazza, a district staff member who presented the memo to the board, outlined five activities: replace access-control software to integrate badge access with employee accounts; upgrade the video management system to allow real-time alerts; replace door card readers on roughly 70 doors; update back-end door controllers that are approaching end of life; and install license-plate readers at three locations to automate school-bus gate access.

Piazza told trustees the integrated software would enable proactive alerts (for example, notifying administrators when a nonroutine exterior door is used) and streamline account deactivation as employees leave the district. He described the license-plate-reader use case as: a registered Tomball ISD bus approaches a gated entrance, the reader recognizes the plate and the gate opens without the driver exiting the vehicle.

Board members stressed coordination between technology upgrades and physical door hardware. A trustee on the safety committee asked staff to ensure door mechanisms and other non-electronic hardware are evaluated so new electronics are not installed on doors that need replacement for other reasons.

Next steps: the project includes contingency funds to address unforeseen issues with aging equipment; staff requested board approval to move forward using Bond 2021 funds and to begin phased implementation and training.