{
  "id": "2025-06-04_regular",
  "meeting_date": "2025-06-04",
  "meeting_type": "regular",
  "meeting_types": [
    "regular"
  ],
  "title": "Conroe ISD Board Meeting — June 4, 2025",
  "date_display": "June 4, 2025",
  "type_display": "Regular Meeting",
  "types_display": [
    "Regular Meeting"
  ],
  "item_count": 0,
  "has_agenda": false,
  "has_notes": true,
  "pdf_filename": null,
  "packet_url": null,
  "generated_at": "2026-06-18T19:45:21.530628Z",
  "highlights": "",
  "sections": [],
  "agenda_breakdown_md": "",
  "meeting_notes_md": "# Conroe ISD Board Meeting — 2025-06-04\n*Regular Meeting — Unofficial Notes*\n*Based on auto-generated transcript. Not an official record.*\n*Generated 2026-03-28 18:36 UTC*\n\n---\n\n# Unofficial Meeting Notes\n## Conroe ISD School Safety and Security Committee\n### Regular Meeting — June 4, 2025, 2:00 PM\n\n*These are unofficial notes based on an auto-generated transcript and may contain errors or omissions.*\n\n---\n\n## Attendance & Opening\n\nThe meeting was called to order at 2:00 PM by Dr. Landry (Committee Chair/Superintendent).\n\n**Key participants noted in discussion:**\n- Mr. Foster (Bond/Capital Improvements)\n- Mr. McCord (Safety & Security)\n- Mr. Ethan Barton (Safety & Security/TEA Compliance)\n- Mr. Jason Milsaps (Chief of Staff for Judge Keough / Director, Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management)\n- Mr. Marshall Schrader (Executive Director of Custodial and Maintenance, CISD)\n- Mr. Rodriguez / Mrs. Tiffany Rodriguez (School Counseling)\n- Mr. Ferguson (Internal safety checks)\n- Chief Blake (referenced in discussion)\n\n---\n\n## Consent/Action Items\n\n### Approval of Minutes — April 24, 2025 Meeting\n- **Motion made and seconded.**\n- **Vote: Approved unanimously (no opposition noted).**\n\n---\n\n## Discussion Items\n\n### A. 2023 Bond Safety and Security Update (Mr. Foster)\n\n**Overview of Bond Scope:**\n- **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.\n- **Junior High & High Schools:** Exterior card reader access for every exterior door and exterior driveway cameras.\n- Exterior cameras are designed to capture who came and went during incidents — described as a tool, not a tracking mechanism.\n\n**Current Status:**\n- Safety and security improvements are included in every capital improvement project underway.\n- Work on existing campuses began in earnest when school let out (May 27, 2025), with crews working around teachers finishing contracts.\n- A large number of campuses are currently under construction (extensive list provided but not read aloud).\n- **Priority:** Getting exterior card readers functional first, which will help the maintenance department reduce the number of exterior keys in circulation.\n\n**Future Phases:**\n- 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.\n- Additional campuses are currently in design phase (preparing bidding documents, design teams and construction managers assigned).\n- Future projects have not yet begun design or construction manager selection.\n- **When complete (summer 2028), every campus in the district will have been upgraded to the same safety and security standard.**\n\n**Significant Discussion — License Plate Reader (LPR) Cameras:**\n- 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.\n- **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:\n  - The City of Conroe has 80+ Flock LPR cameras.\n  - Montgomery County patrol cars (700+) now have LPR capability through Axon systems.\n  - LPR data can be shared instantly across agencies for rapid identification.\n  - Suggested testing current cameras this fall to determine image quality.\n  - 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.\n- **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.\n- 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.\n\n---\n\n### B. Hurricane Preparedness for the District (Mr. McCord, Mr. Milsaps, Mr. Schrader)\n\n**Season Outlook:**\n- NOAA and Colorado State University predict an above-average hurricane season.\n- 2025 is projected to be a **neutral year** (neither El Niño nor La Niña), meaning average conditions.\n- Saharan dust events can help suppress hurricane formation.\n\n**Historical Context — Hurricane Beryl (2024):**\n- 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.\n- Gave little warning on direction, heading directly toward the county.\n\n**Legal/Partnership Framework:**\n- **House Bill 1471 (2007):** Requires organizations like CISD to potentially provide resources (e.g., buses) to the community, region, or state during emergencies.\n- **2018 Resolution:** Mutual aid agreement between CISD and Montgomery County for reciprocal assistance during emergencies.\n\n**CISD Pre-Storm Preparations (Mr. McCord & Mr. Schrader):**\n- Generators serviced monthly; contractor performs major checks twice yearly.\n- Pallets of water stored in warehouse for immediate use.\n- Three emergency trailers maintained:\n  - \"Flood fighter\" trailer (used successfully during Knox water release — handled internally without outside contractor)\n  - Generator trailer with portable generators and extension cords for temporary campus power\n  - Additional response trailer\n- **Goal:** Keep students in school whenever possible, as parents may be at work.\n- Pre-storm: Secure potential projectiles around campuses; check food storage in freezers/coolers.\n- Strategic staff placement: Maintenance staff positioned by geographic zone (e.g., East County staff check East County schools) to minimize response time.\n\n**Post-Storm Response:**\n- Pre-arranged reunion plans for staff.\n- Maintenance checks for water intrusion (specific vulnerable locations identified, e.g., Washington campus gym floor).\n- **After-action reviews** conducted after every significant storm; lessons learned are incorporated into updated checklists.\n- Communication via text strings; digital radios added after cell signal loss during Hurricane Ike.\n- Inspection programs on cell phones allow documentation with or without cell signal (can submit later) — proved invaluable for FEMA and insurance claims.\n- FEMA claims require GPS coordinates, before/after photos for every item of damage.\n- **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.\n- **Network Operations Center (NOC):** Located on-site, backed by generators, enables electronic communications during emergencies.\n\n**Montgomery County Emergency Management Capabilities (Mr. Milsaps):**\n- **78,000 sq. ft. warehouse** stocked with emergency supplies (\"Costco for emergency management\"):\n  - 78 pallets of ice currently on hand\n  - Extensive water supply (rotated to prevent expiration)\n  - Stock levels being raised to hurricane season levels\n- County utilizes FEMA and state resources to restock after events.\n- 100% professional, career-level first responders across the county.\n- EOC staff deploys to disasters nationwide for experience.\n- **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.\n- County traffic management plan being updated for increased pass-through traffic.\n- **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.\n- **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.\n- **Communications concerns:**\n  - Many residents are not consuming weather/news information.\n  - **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.\n  - This would start with a phone call to Dr. Landry, who would activate the communications team.\n  - No MOU needed — just coordination.\n- **Technology resources available to CISD:**\n  - 14 Starlink systems (including a deployable trailer unit)\n  - 3 portable cell towers (\"cells on wheels\" — COWs) in Pelican cases, compatible with FirstNet network, providing coverage within half a mile\n  - Cache of 20 FirstNet phones with push-to-talk capability (20 channels) available to loan to CISD during incidents\n- New challenge: Fiber network nodes between points now require hardwired power and lack backup generators, creating potential outage points.\n- **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.\n\n**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.\n\n---\n\n### C. 2024-2025 Weekly Required Door Inspections (Mr. Barton)\n\n- TEA-required weekly door inspections documented and submitted through the TEA's **Sentinel** program.\n- **As of May 15, 2025:** **138,500 door inspections** documented across 66 campuses (not yet a complete year).\n- The district has approaching **2,000 doors**.\n- **220 out of 138,500 inspections** found broken doors with work orders placed.\n- Maintenance team (Mr. Schrader's team) responds quickly to repair issues.\n- **TEA requires** twice-yearly maintenance checks; CISD performs them **monthly**.\n- 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.\n\n---\n\n### D. Mental Health Initiatives in Conroe ISD (Mr. Rodriguez)\n\n**Department Rebranding:**\n- 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.\n\n**District Crisis Team:**\n- **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).\n\n**New Mental Health Specialist:**\n- **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.\n\n**Mental Health Toolkits:**\n- Originated from work with the SHAC (School Health Advisory Council) in 2023-24 on suicide prevention.\n- **12 additional toolkits** created in 2024-25, divided into two categories:\n  - **Legislative-driven:** Suicide prevention, human trafficking, bullying prevention, substance use awareness, digital citizenship/online safety\n  - **Supportive:** Anxiety (created last year); **grief toolkit** being developed for 2025-26\n- Toolkits serve as one-stop-shop resources for campuses, shared through assistant superintendents and incorporated into comprehensive school counseling plans.\n\n**Staffing Discussion:**\n- CISD has **188 school counselors**.\n- **7 fewer counselors** going into next year due to allocation changes.\n- **24 elementary campuses** have only one school counselor; approximately 8 of those serve over 800 students.\n- State mandate is 1 counselor per 350 students, but elementary allocation allows additional counselors only at 500-student increments.\n- Mr. Rodriguez advocated for more school counselors.\n\n**Significant Board Member Comments:**\n- A committee member expressed concern about **loss of student life** and requested:\n  - A **deeper dive into mental health initiatives**\n  - Review of counselor **allocations** to ensure adequate staffing\n  - Exploration of a **student-driven committee** to hear directly from students\n  - Interest in understanding what can be done that doesn't cost money\n- Another member requested more information about the **reporting process** when staff identify students in crisis (how concerns flow from teachers/counselors to parents).\n- Mr. Rodriguez agreed to follow up on these requests.\n\n---\n\n### E. Intruder Detection Audits — 2024-25 School Year (Mr. McCord & Mr. Barton)\n\n- **65 campuses** received unannounced, random intruder detection audits during the school year.\n- **62 of 65 achieved the desired goal** with no findings.\n- Program concluded for the year with no additional incidents since the last committee meeting.\n- Mr. McCord emphasized: \"There's no finish line to safety\" — audits will continue next year with a goal to improve further.\n\n**Upcoming: District Vulnerability Assessment (DVA):**\n- TEA's new comprehensive safety assessment program — described by Mr. McCord as unprecedented in scale.\n- 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.\n- Mr. Barton noted the district has had a \"head start\" through existing Sentinel compliance work and has been proactively preparing.\n- Results and reports will likely be presented to the committee at the **meeting following the October 16th meeting** due to turnaround time.\n- 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.\"\n\n---\n\n## Upcoming Meeting\n\n**Next Committee Meeting:** **October 16, 2025 (Thursday) at 4:00 PM**\n\n---\n\n## Adjournment\n\n- **Motion to adjourn made and seconded.**\n- **Vote: Approved unanimously.**\n- Meeting adjourned.\n\n---\n\n## Summary of Key Action Items / Follow-ups\n\n| Item | Responsible | Timeline |\n|------|-------------|----------|\n| Test new driveway cameras for license plate image quality; report to committee on LPR feasibility | Mr. Foster / Mr. Milsaps | Fall 2025 |\n| Coordinate storm awareness text messaging partnership with Montgomery County OEM | Dr. Landry / CISD Communications / Mr. Milsaps | Hurricane season 2025 |\n| Add Dr. Landry to county emergency coordination text/email threads | Mr. Milsaps | Immediate |\n| Deeper dive into mental health initiatives, counselor allocations, and student-driven feedback | Mr. Rodriguez / School Counseling | 2025-26 |\n| Develop grief mental health toolkit | Taylor Bart (new Mental Health Specialist) | 2025-26 |\n| Prepare for TEA District Vulnerability Assessment | Mr. Barton / Mr. McCord | Week of October 6, 2025 |\n| Present DVA results to committee | Mr. Barton | Meeting after October 16, 2025 |"
}