Officials have conducted “intruder detection audits” at five of Boerne ISD’s 12 schools and are compiling the data for release next year, after the procedures are completed on all schools. BISD Superintendent Dr. Thomas Price on Dec. 11 updated the board of trustees on the progress of the audits.
The audits are unannounced and performed at random, according to Bryan Benway, Boerne ISD director of communications. The district and local law enforcement are notified when Boerne is in the audit window, which means the audits can happen anytime within that time frame, typically around about a month long.
“So far, five of our 12 campuses have had the surprise door checks,” Price said during the board’s final scheduled meeting of 2023. “What we’ll do at the end of the year is come back and give you another update. What we have now is a checklist of all of our secondary.”
The auditors are employed by the Texas Education Association and are not Boerne ISD staff or regular contractors.
Benway said an auditor will arrive unannounced, dressed in plain clothes, and will attempt to gain entry into the school through unlocked doors. If the auditor cannot gain entry, they go to the main office and contact the campus principal to discuss their findings.
Once the auditor announces himself to a staff member, campus officials accompany the auditor around the school, Benway said. Every exterior door is checked to ensure they are locked.
“The auditor will discuss corrective action with the campus principal if a door is not secure or locked. After that, the district and campus must take steps to ensure the door is locked in the future,” Benway said.
“We’re going through and making sure we train all of our campuses on the importance of locking all the exterior doors and also the interior doors,” Price told board members. “We have a system in place so that at the end of the day we can turn it in to the principal, verify that all the doors were checked multiple times.”
Benway said the BISD’s Safety and Security Committee helps create and maintain a safe and secure school climate and culture. The committee consists of representatives from all local law enforcement agencies that serve Boerne ISD, parents, BISD staff, and members of the BISD board of trustees.
“Just as the door intruder audits were performed last year, we made some adjustments at the end of the year, we’re making more adjustments and will continue to do training, especially with our secondary campuses, where they have more mobility, more open and shutting of the doors,” Price said.
The district has expanded its partnerships with local law enforcement agencies to provide a School Resource Officer at every campus, Benway said.
“Safety and security are our top priorities,” he said. “We are grateful for the support of our local law enforcement and campus administrators for helping keep our schools safe.”
The district already employs safety measures such as visitor check-in process, evacuation drills, P3 confidential reporting, and social and emotional initiatives to support our students and staff.
All district campuses have reinforced a single point of entry for guests and visitors, and immediately address building and maintenance needs to secure our facilities, Benway added.
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