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Safety staff: Brazosport ISD remediated two TEA audit findings and is advancing districtwide security upgrades
Summary
At its May 12, 2025 meeting, Brazosport ISD safety staff told the committee that two TEA intruder‑detection findings have been remediated or are being addressed, and provided updates on communications (BDA/FirstNet), physical upgrades (bullet film, fencing, metal detectors) and staffing/training. Next procedural steps include public notice to the board May 19 and commissioning of communications systems.
The Brazosport Independent School District safety and security staff reported on May 12 that two findings from a Texas School Safety Center intruder‑detection audit of all 17 campuses have been addressed or are in remediation, and outlined a series of districtwide security and communications upgrades.
The staff member leading the update told the Safety & Security Committee that two campuses showed audit findings: a mechanical door‑closure problem at one campus (door 9) and an exterior door at Brazosport High School (door 45) that had been left unlocked. "One finding has already been remediated," the staff member said, adding that the district submitted documentation to TEA and received confirmation that the remediation met requirements.
The staff member described TEA's four‑step remediation and reporting process: live staff training demonstrating how to check and secure doors, submission of training records and attendance to TEA, development of a campus action plan to prevent recurrence, and public notice to the board of trustees with executive‑session discussion followed by reporting to the Safety & Security Committee. The staff member said notice of the two findings will be placed on the board agenda for the May 19 trustees meeting.
At Brazosport High School, the transcript indicates the principal (identified in the meeting as Mr. Virgil) retrained staff on May 8–9 and instituted redundant daily door checks performed by multiple level‑three safety specialists; the district has identified the staff member responsible for the unlocked door and said it will consider consequences for not following procedures.
Beyond the two TEA findings, the presentation covered multiple upgrades funded primarily through grant awards. The district reported completion or near completion of several projects: integration of the latest silent panic alert (SPAT) system and correction of missing strobes by the vendor; installation of bullet‑resistant film at required entry points and adjacent windows (one exception noted where work was still in progress); addition of peepholes to solid classroom doors; sequential exterior and interior door numbering to meet fire‑code marking requirements; and installation of padlocks on roof accesses.
Communications projects were a major focus. The district is installing bi‑directional amplifiers (BDAs) to improve in‑building radio reception and cellular coverage. Vendor schedules set a contractor completion date of July 31, 2025, even though the underlying grant window was extended to April 21, 2027; several sites were reported as complete (administration building, TRC, some campuses), Brazoswood was reported at about 84% and one maintenance/transportation building was on hold at roughly 33% because of reconstruction. Final commissioning requires the regional radio authority to test and enable the systems.
On maintenance and service, a committee member who identified himself as "Steve" asked whether the district had a repair and upkeep plan for the BDA/cellular systems after installation. The staff member said systems come with a two‑year warranty and the district declined an ongoing maintenance contract for now but is developing an internal testing and monitoring plan and will consider paid support if funding becomes available. Mr. Bogle of maintenance and operations added that the BDA systems are integrated with the district's notifier system so faults should trigger campus alerts and direct maintenance responses.
Security staffing and training were also discussed. The staff member said the district employs 17 armed level‑three safety specialists across campuses and that staff receive regular range training and classroom de‑escalation instruction. The district is equipping safety staff and officers with ballistic shields and training them to use them in classroom scenarios; elementary campuses currently do not house shields on site but secondary campuses can access shields via police offices.
Other points: the district purchased three sets of metal‑detector systems (deployed at Brazosport High School for testing), completed House Bill 496 "Stop the Bleed" training for seventh graders at Lake Jackson Intermediate, and reported compliance with required lockdown, secure, evacuation, shelter and fire drills districtwide. The staff member said the district is piloting six FirstNet portable radios to assess public‑safety cellular capability for key leaders.
On grant management, the staff member said the district still needs to program roughly $4.5 million of cycle‑one grant funds before the April 2027 deadline and that administrators are coordinating campus priorities. The district is also preparing a COPS grant application (up to $500,000) to pursue security cameras, servers and access control items that were not funded after a bond measure failed.
The meeting closed with no formal motions or votes; the staff member said the two TEA findings will be publicly noticed to the board on May 19 and that commissioning and warranty/maintenance decisions remain next steps for communications systems.
