Lake Dallas ISD police chief says campuses meet safety audit requirements, outlines training and partnerships

Lake Dallas ISD Police Chief Springer updated trustees Jan. 19 on the district's school safety work, saying the district is meeting state security requirements and has taken several steps to strengthen response and prevention.

Springer told the board that intruder detection audits returned no findings at three campuses so far and that the district is compliant with recent state safety-related laws, including those implemented under recent legislative sessions. He said the district will have a three-year audit with the Texas School Safety Center in February and a district vulnerability assessment conducted by the Texas Education Agency's Office of School Safety in April.

Chief Springer described staff training on the standard response protocol and the district's Syntegix silent/panic-button alert system; he said the district is replacing crisis-alert button hardware to address battery-life issues and will roll an upgraded badge and button system out across campuses. Springer also noted that every new employee and substitute receives safety training and that fall drills were completed with spring drills scheduled.

On enforcement and community engagement, Springer reported 117 calls for service and 55 offense or incident reports during calendar year 2025; he described outreach efforts including "Coffee with a Cop" events, community breakfasts, Toys for Tots participation, joint emergency-response trainings with city police departments, and tours for state and federal officers to familiarize them with building layouts.

Springer said the district recently began receiving reports directly through Denton County Crime Stoppers in addition to internal anonymous reporting, and that the department has increased coordination with local law enforcement to improve response times and shared situational awareness.

Board members thanked Springer; no formal action was required.