ECISD To Review Campus Intruder Detection Reports At Canterbury And Esparza Elementaries

Edinburg TX – January 28, 2023

The Edinburg CISD Board of Trustees will review recently completed Campus Intruder Detection Audit Report findings for two elementary school campuses.

The Edinburg CISD Safety and Security Committee will meet on Wednesday, February 1, 2023, at 4:15 p.m. The Committee will review the Campus Intruder Detection Audit Report findings for Canterbury Elementary and Esparza Elementary. The meeting will be held in the ECISD Board Room located in the Administration Building at 411 N. 8th Ave., Edinburg, Texas 78539. Parents and community members are invited to attend. The Committee will go into executive session to discuss the details of the report.

During the January 10, 2023, regular ECISD Board of Trustees meeting, district insurance manager Jesse Garza reported that the district had recently completed the state mandated audits. He pointed out that changes had been implemented after the incident in Uvalde.

According to Garza, the Texas Education Agency and the Texas School Safety Center (TSSC) conducted an audit at some ECISD campuses to test and evaluate if the campuses are accessible to an outside intruder.

Although the information was not made public, board members received a report with three separate audits conducted by the TSSC. 

“Due to the nature of the information on the state intruder campus detection audits, it is in the best interests of the students and staff that we do not share the results with the public to not alter the safety and security measures which ECISD has in place,” Garza explained. “However, rest assured that this information has been shared with campus staff, the school district school safety and security committee, and will be discussed by the superintendent with the school in executive session.”

According to Garza, he met with every school for corrective action. “The District School Safety and Security Committee continues to strive to be proactive and at the forefront to ensure safety at all Edinburg CISD campuses and facilities,” Garza said.

In a recent report by the TSSC, of 2,864 campuses audited between September and December 2022, inspectors at 95.3% of campuses did not gain unauthorized access to the campus. However, 28.4% of audited campuses received directives for corrective actions. Garza did not indicate if any corrective actions were provided by TSSC inspectors at the ECISD schools.

According to the Texas School Safety Center, audits are conducted during normal school or facility operations when students or staff are present. Audits should be avoided when the schedule is severely altered, during special testing days, or when operations have ceased.

During the course of the audit, team members should utilize appropriate sections of the District Facility Safety and Security Audit Checklist to ensure a comprehensive assessment of safety and security is conducted. Team members may assess additional components, which can be determined locally. The facility audit checklist is a guide, and some items in the checklist may not be present in some school or district facilities or not be applicable to current operations. The school or district should determine which items from the checklists are appropriate. 

Conducting a safety and security audit of a facility consists of the following:

1. An assessment of facility and district policies and procedures.
2. Surveys or interviews of students, teachers, staff, and parents.
3. An intruder assessment that tests current access control and visitor management procedures at each facility.
4. A site visit to each facility that includes an interview with the campus administrator, a walk-through and visual assessment of all building interiors and exteriors including grounds, a document review, and an exit conference.
5. A written report or summary of audit findings for each facility, which includes commendations and recommendations.
6. Inclusion of results of each facility audit in a comprehensive district report and data included in the submission to the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC).