Teacher says staff and students remain unsafe after March shooting; asks board for clear plan

Jennifer Fay, a teacher at Hill Country College Preparatory High School, told the Comal ISD Board of Trustees on May 28 that a March 30 campus shooting left one teacher with life‑threatening injuries and that staff and students continue to feel unsafe.

"None of us have felt safe or whole since that day," Fay said, describing the district’s immediate post‑incident response and urging the board to take visible, proactive steps to rebuild trust. She said staff were told to drive across the county to receive support services the day after the shooting and that district leadership told teachers they would "reclaim the school," but she said staff remain anxious about returning without clearer protections.

Fay said she asked Superintendent Dr. Chapman about metal detectors and that he responded, "We're not going to do that," which she said increased staff concern. She urged the board to ‘‘rejoin us on the same field’’ and to communicate concrete plans, even if iterative, before school resumes in August.

The board also heard related public comments about district decisions and transparency: parent Samantha Elabel challenged the district’s decision to phase out tuition‑based pre‑K immediately, saying state officials told her House Bill 2 does not mandate accelerated elimination, and resident Kevin Samuelson said his microphone was muted at a previous meeting and asked for accountability about digital public‑forum records.

Board President Courtney Basadi thanked speakers and noted district staff had met that morning with teachers; trustees said they appreciated the testimony and would continue work on safety planning ahead of the fall semester.