WACO, TX — A federal grant totaling $649,999 has be awarded to the Waco Independent School District to enhance security measures at elementary schools.
“If the children and teachers can feel safe then we’re going to get a lot of learning and teaching going on, so our job is to make sure that they are safe so we are going to go to whatever means that we have to, to make sure our learning environments are safe,“ said Waco ISD Police Chief David Williams II.
Of the measures to be upgraded, at the top of the list are security cameras and more in-depth training for their police force.
“We’re going to provide them with more training. They’re going to be able to go to the A.L.E.R.T training. What that does is it helps officers with teaching them to respond to active shooter situations,“ explained Chief Williams.
In March 2019 Chief Williams said he saw the opportunity for the grant and pounced.
“It’s a never ending process. We are continuously upgrading. With this grant, it give us the opportunity to be able to speed up the process," explained Chief Williams.
75% of the money is coming from federal funds. The district will match the remaining 25%.
Chief Williams went on to say the overall goal is to make the "good" security features at Waco ISD "great."
