Kevin O’Connor Kommentary August 10

Local School District Administrators Publicize Safety And Security Efforts

School safety and security is publicized this week by administrators in College Station and Bryan ISD. In College Station ISD, superintendent Tim Harkrider posted on the district’s website this week, a message that included what is being done. The entire statement is at wtaw dot com. Some examples given by Harkrider are CSISD regularly practicing emergency procedures with students and staff; meeting with CSISD’s safety and security committee; updating emergency plans and security infrastructure; and maintaining relationships and communication with local law enforcement. Harkrider asks CSISD parents to talk with their children about school safety and remind them that if they ever feel unsafe at school, to tell a teacher or administrator. Monday night’s Bryan ISD school board meeting included several administrators combining on a school safety and security presentation. Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the September 23, 2024 Bryan ISD board meeting. Bryan ISD’s assistant director of safety and security Rich Himmel brought up a new state inspection that will be done every four years to assess the vulnerability of every campus building. That led BISD school board member Mark McCall to tell administrators to ask the board when items are needed to meet state security requirements. One of Bryan ISD’s school leadership directors, Linda Montoya, explained the district’s standard response protocol…which is how BISD responds to emergencies and unusual situations on their campuses. She also brought up that each Bryan ISD campus has something called a safe and supportive school team. Bryan ISD’s technology director, Julea Johnson, explained the district’s new emergency notification system that is in every classroom…officially known as Silent Panic Alarm Technology or SPAT. Board members also heard about mental health services that are provided by Bryan ISD. BISD’s other school leadership director, Brian Merrell, talked about communication between students, parents, teachers, and administrators. That included students not receiving all communications related to safety and security incidents and that parents are no longer able to opt out of BISD emergency messages. As for informing community members of safety and security incidents, that was not brought up by Merrell or other Bryan ISD administrators. And it was not brought up in the statement the College Station ISD superintendent posted this week on CSISD’s website. Click below to hear some of the comments from the September 23rd, 2024 Bryan ISD board meeting. Listen to “Local school district administrators publicize safety and security efforts” on Spreaker.  

College Station Police Investigating A Pedestrian Who Was Struck By A Commercial Truck

College Station police is investigating the circumstances of a pedestrian who was struck by a commercial truck. A CSPD spokesman says a 69 year old man was flown to a hospital in Temple. The man was struck Wednesday morning (September 25) west of the Walmart store as he was walking across Longmire Drive from Airline Drive. The location of the initial point of contact remains under investigation. No arrest or tickets have been issued. Longmire has reopened after being closed to allow CSPD’s accident reconstruction and crime scene units to collect information.

College Station City Council Receives A Report On The Operations At Ringer Library

College Station city council members receive a summary of fiscal year 2024 activity at Ringer Library. Statistics included more than 197,000 visitors who checked out more than 409,000 items. Additionally, Ringer Library hosted 514 programs, of which nearly 60 percent targeted children and almost one-third were on topics of general interest. And visitors made more than 4,300 room reservations. Council questions followed the presentation by the city manager’s office chief of staff Ross Brady. William Wright asked to consider the future placement of book drop off boxes at public owned buildings, which Brady said would cost between $6,000 and $10,000 dollars per location. Councilwoman Linda Harvell asked for more handicapped parking spaces in addition to the five or six that are available for elderly residents. Brady said the Bryan/College Station, of which Ringer is a member, is accredited. Brady said for Ringer to be accredited, would require the acquisition of 42,000 materials at an estimated cost of $847,000 dollars. In response to a question from councilman Dennis Maloney, Brady said the library could accept donations. Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the September 12, 2024 College Station city council meeting. Click HERE to read and download a Ringer Library “fact sheet” provided by the city of College Station. Click below to hear comments from the September 12, 2024 College Station city council meeting.