June 4, 2025 — Regular Meeting
Conroe ISD Board Meeting — 2025-06-04
Regular Meeting — Unofficial Notes
Based on auto-generated transcript. Not an official record.
Generated 2026-03-28 18:36 UTC
Unofficial Meeting Notes
Conroe ISD School Safety and Security Committee
Regular Meeting — June 4, 2025, 2:00 PM
These are unofficial notes based on an auto-generated transcript and may contain errors or omissions.
Attendance & Opening
The meeting was called to order at 2:00 PM by Dr. Landry (Committee Chair/Superintendent).
Key participants noted in discussion:
- Mr. Foster (Bond/Capital Improvements)
- Mr. McCord (Safety & Security)
- Mr. Ethan Barton (Safety & Security/TEA Compliance)
- Mr. Jason Milsaps (Chief of Staff for Judge Keough / Director, Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management)
- Mr. Marshall Schrader (Executive Director of Custodial and Maintenance, CISD)
- Mr. Rodriguez / Mrs. Tiffany Rodriguez (School Counseling)
- Mr. Ferguson (Internal safety checks)
- Chief Blake (referenced in discussion)
Consent/Action Items
Approval of Minutes — April 24, 2025 Meeting
- Motion made and seconded.
- Vote: Approved unanimously (no opposition noted).
Discussion Items
A. 2023 Bond Safety and Security Update (Mr. Foster)
Overview of Bond Scope:
- Elementary & Intermediate schools: Secure classroom corridors (additional security layer allowing doors to remain locked but open for cross-hall supervision), 100% exterior card reader access, and exterior cameras focused on driveways.
- Junior High & High Schools: Exterior card reader access for every exterior door and exterior driveway cameras.
- Exterior cameras are designed to capture who came and went during incidents — described as a tool, not a tracking mechanism.
Current Status:
- Safety and security improvements are included in every capital improvement project underway.
- Work on existing campuses began in earnest when school let out (May 27, 2025), with crews working around teachers finishing contracts.
- A large number of campuses are currently under construction (extensive list provided but not read aloud).
- Priority: Getting exterior card readers functional first, which will help the maintenance department reduce the number of exterior keys in circulation.
Future Phases:
- Projects with opening dates later than August 2025 include Timber Mill High School and other new campuses under the 2023 bond, plus critical infrastructure packages.
- Additional campuses are currently in design phase (preparing bidding documents, design teams and construction managers assigned).
- Future projects have not yet begun design or construction manager selection.
- When complete (summer 2028), every campus in the district will have been upgraded to the same safety and security standard.
Significant Discussion — License Plate Reader (LPR) Cameras:
- A committee member (Mr. Milsaps) raised concerns about whether the exterior driveway cameras are LPR-capable. Mr. Foster confirmed they are not automatic license plate readers but are high-resolution enough to manually zoom in and capture plates.
- Mr. Milsaps expressed concern that based on his law enforcement experience, standard cameras often produce blurry images when zoomed in on license plates, especially when vehicles are moving quickly. He noted:
- The City of Conroe has 80+ Flock LPR cameras.
- Montgomery County patrol cars (700+) now have LPR capability through Axon systems.
- LPR data can be shared instantly across agencies for rapid identification.
- Suggested testing current cameras this fall to determine image quality.
- LPR options include fee-based systems (e.g., Flock at ~$2,500/year per camera) or one-time purchase cameras (e.g., Axon) that integrate into existing camera management systems.
- Mr. Foster committed to running tests on the newly installed camera systems this fall and bringing a report back to the committee. Mr. Milsaps offered to help demonstrate the systems.
- A list of campuses receiving camera installations this summer was noted: Campbell, Haley, Buckalew, Ford, Creighton, Armstrong, Austin, Burnham, Broadway, Deretchin, Kaufman, Milam, Houston, Runyan, Snyder, Tough, and Collins — each with multiple driveways.
B. Hurricane Preparedness for the District (Mr. McCord, Mr. Milsaps, Mr. Schrader)
Season Outlook:
- NOAA and Colorado State University predict an above-average hurricane season.
- 2025 is projected to be a neutral year (neither El Niño nor La Niña), meaning average conditions.
- Saharan dust events can help suppress hurricane formation.
Historical Context — Hurricane Beryl (2024):
- Beryl was the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever recorded (June) and meandered in the Gulf for 13 days before making landfall July 8 as a Category 1 near Matagorda.
- Gave little warning on direction, heading directly toward the county.
Legal/Partnership Framework:
- House Bill 1471 (2007): Requires organizations like CISD to potentially provide resources (e.g., buses) to the community, region, or state during emergencies.
- 2018 Resolution: Mutual aid agreement between CISD and Montgomery County for reciprocal assistance during emergencies.
CISD Pre-Storm Preparations (Mr. McCord & Mr. Schrader):
- Generators serviced monthly; contractor performs major checks twice yearly.
- Pallets of water stored in warehouse for immediate use.
- Three emergency trailers maintained:
- "Flood fighter" trailer (used successfully during Knox water release — handled internally without outside contractor)
- Generator trailer with portable generators and extension cords for temporary campus power
- Additional response trailer
- Goal: Keep students in school whenever possible, as parents may be at work.
- Pre-storm: Secure potential projectiles around campuses; check food storage in freezers/coolers.
- Strategic staff placement: Maintenance staff positioned by geographic zone (e.g., East County staff check East County schools) to minimize response time.
Post-Storm Response:
- Pre-arranged reunion plans for staff.
- Maintenance checks for water intrusion (specific vulnerable locations identified, e.g., Washington campus gym floor).
- After-action reviews conducted after every significant storm; lessons learned are incorporated into updated checklists.
- Communication via text strings; digital radios added after cell signal loss during Hurricane Ike.
- Inspection programs on cell phones allow documentation with or without cell signal (can submit later) — proved invaluable for FEMA and insurance claims.
- FEMA claims require GPS coordinates, before/after photos for every item of damage.
- Perimeter fencing reinforced with bottom rails (funded by safety and security grant); some fence failures occurred during Beryl, but reinforcements should hold against all but severe storms.
- Network Operations Center (NOC): Located on-site, backed by generators, enables electronic communications during emergencies.
Montgomery County Emergency Management Capabilities (Mr. Milsaps):
- 78,000 sq. ft. warehouse stocked with emergency supplies ("Costco for emergency management"):
- 78 pallets of ice currently on hand
- Extensive water supply (rotated to prevent expiration)
- Stock levels being raised to hurricane season levels
- County utilizes FEMA and state resources to restock after events.
- 100% professional, career-level first responders across the county.
- EOC staff deploys to disasters nationwide for experience.
- Evacuation considerations: Galveston County increasing evacuation time from 36 to 72 hours due to causeway bridge construction; Montgomery County is a pass-through county, not an evacuation county — residents encouraged to shelter in place.
- County traffic management plan being updated for increased pass-through traffic.
- Fuel resources: On contract through mutual aid with CISD; county can move fuel independently and maintains a stockpile; offered to help CISD if generator fuel contractors are delayed.
- Buses: County has used CISD and Splendora ISD buses in past emergencies; does not anticipate needing CISD buses unless there is a major countywide event.
- Communications concerns:
- Many residents are not consuming weather/news information.
- Proposed partnership: County would like CISD to use its robust text/email notification system (reaching 80,000+ student families) to send storm awareness messages in coordination with the Office of Emergency Management. This would prompt families to pay attention and potentially sign up for MCTX Alert.
- This would start with a phone call to Dr. Landry, who would activate the communications team.
- No MOU needed — just coordination.
- Technology resources available to CISD:
- 14 Starlink systems (including a deployable trailer unit)
- 3 portable cell towers ("cells on wheels" — COWs) in Pelican cases, compatible with FirstNet network, providing coverage within half a mile
- Cache of 20 FirstNet phones with push-to-talk capability (20 channels) available to loan to CISD during incidents
- New challenge: Fiber network nodes between points now require hardwired power and lack backup generators, creating potential outage points.
- Points of Distribution (PODs): CISD campuses used post-storm for distributing food, water, and ice to the public; district's geographic spread allows countywide coverage using only CISD facilities.
Committee member question: Asked whether formal communications coordination with CISD is being established. Mr. Milsaps confirmed it would be informal coordination starting with a phone call to Dr. Landry, with the county helping draft appropriate messaging. Dr. Landry and team confirmed willingness.
C. 2024-2025 Weekly Required Door Inspections (Mr. Barton)
- TEA-required weekly door inspections documented and submitted through the TEA's Sentinel program.
- As of May 15, 2025: 138,500 door inspections documented across 66 campuses (not yet a complete year).
- The district has approaching 2,000 doors.
- 220 out of 138,500 inspections found broken doors with work orders placed.
- Maintenance team (Mr. Schrader's team) responds quickly to repair issues.
- TEA requires twice-yearly maintenance checks; CISD performs them monthly.
- Each door inspection includes video documentation of the door opening and closing, attached to the work order and reported to Mr. Barton for TEA submission.
D. Mental Health Initiatives in Conroe ISD (Mr. Rodriguez)
Department Rebranding:
- Official name change from "Guidance and Counseling" to "School Counseling" for 2025-26, aligning with TEA terminology and the evolving comprehensive role of school counselors.
District Crisis Team:
- 25 new school counselor volunteers recruited to serve on the district crisis team, which responds to campuses experiencing crises (e.g., death of a student or staff member).
New Mental Health Specialist:
- Taylor Bart (from Milam Elementary) replaces the previous specialist who left for the private sector. She will monitor Texas legislation and support preventive mental health efforts.
Mental Health Toolkits:
- Originated from work with the SHAC (School Health Advisory Council) in 2023-24 on suicide prevention.
- 12 additional toolkits created in 2024-25, divided into two categories:
- Legislative-driven: Suicide prevention, human trafficking, bullying prevention, substance use awareness, digital citizenship/online safety
- Supportive: Anxiety (created last year); grief toolkit being developed for 2025-26
- Toolkits serve as one-stop-shop resources for campuses, shared through assistant superintendents and incorporated into comprehensive school counseling plans.
Staffing Discussion:
- CISD has 188 school counselors.
- 7 fewer counselors going into next year due to allocation changes.
- 24 elementary campuses have only one school counselor; approximately 8 of those serve over 800 students.
- State mandate is 1 counselor per 350 students, but elementary allocation allows additional counselors only at 500-student increments.
- Mr. Rodriguez advocated for more school counselors.
Significant Board Member Comments:
- A committee member expressed concern about loss of student life and requested:
- A deeper dive into mental health initiatives
- Review of counselor allocations to ensure adequate staffing
- Exploration of a student-driven committee to hear directly from students
- Interest in understanding what can be done that doesn't cost money
- Another member requested more information about the reporting process when staff identify students in crisis (how concerns flow from teachers/counselors to parents).
- Mr. Rodriguez agreed to follow up on these requests.
E. Intruder Detection Audits — 2024-25 School Year (Mr. McCord & Mr. Barton)
- 65 campuses received unannounced, random intruder detection audits during the school year.
- 62 of 65 achieved the desired goal with no findings.
- Program concluded for the year with no additional incidents since the last committee meeting.
- Mr. McCord emphasized: "There's no finish line to safety" — audits will continue next year with a goal to improve further.
Upcoming: District Vulnerability Assessment (DVA):
- TEA's new comprehensive safety assessment program — described by Mr. McCord as unprecedented in scale.
- CISD was not in the first round (2023-24); CISD's assessment is scheduled for the week of October 6, 2025 — 3 days, 53 campuses.
- Mr. Barton noted the district has had a "head start" through existing Sentinel compliance work and has been proactively preparing.
- Results and reports will likely be presented to the committee at the meeting following the October 16th meeting due to turnaround time.
- Mr. McCord emphasized: "It's not about checking the boxes... it's about doing it because it's the right thing to do and keeps people safe."
Upcoming Meeting
Next Committee Meeting: October 16, 2025 (Thursday) at 4:00 PM
Adjournment
- Motion to adjourn made and seconded.
- Vote: Approved unanimously.
- Meeting adjourned.
Summary of Key Action Items / Follow-ups
| Item | Responsible | Timeline |
|------|-------------|----------|
| Test new driveway cameras for license plate image quality; report to committee on LPR feasibility | Mr. Foster / Mr. Milsaps | Fall 2025 |
| Coordinate storm awareness text messaging partnership with Montgomery County OEM | Dr. Landry / CISD Communications / Mr. Milsaps | Hurricane season 2025 |
| Add Dr. Landry to county emergency coordination text/email threads | Mr. Milsaps | Immediate |
| Deeper dive into mental health initiatives, counselor allocations, and student-driven feedback | Mr. Rodriguez / School Counseling | 2025-26 |
| Develop grief mental health toolkit | Taylor Bart (new Mental Health Specialist) | 2025-26 |
| Prepare for TEA District Vulnerability Assessment | Mr. Barton / Mr. McCord | Week of October 6, 2025 |
| Present DVA results to committee | Mr. Barton | Meeting after October 16, 2025 |