Bond Proposition will Improve School Safety in CCISD

The 2023 Clear Creek ISD Bond proposal calls for $30 million in life safety and security upgrades, including improvements to surveillance cameras and emergency alert systems.

If approved, all CCISD schools and buildings will have the latest digital technology for surveillance, public address systems, and fire and sprinkler systems. Bay Elementary and Seabrook Intermediate are the two remaining schools that would undergo renovations to the front entrance areas for secure vestibules. There would also be construction to the Bayside Intermediate access drive to complete the loop around the Education Village to make it more accessible for first responders and school evacuations.

“Our primary responsibility is to ensure our students and staff are safe, both emotionally and physically at all of our campuses,” said Paul Miller, assistant superintendent of support services. “Every system that’s incorporated into Proposition B for the 2023 Bond is in accordance with our current standards to make sure we are also meeting all of the latest code requirements.”

In 2018, the CCISD School Safety Committee made a set of recommendations to further enhance school safety across the district. Facility improvements, added security and student resources were included in this list.

“It’s really a culture of safety that requires constant vigilance and training and resetting and making sure we are doing what we’re supposed to do every day,” said Miller. “The work of the committee and the school district over the last few years has reinforced this belief that safety is our primary responsibility.”

One of the most visible changes is the addition of 16 school liaison officers stationed across the district, including three at each high school and two at each intermediate school which also support their elementary feeder schools every day.

“We pay about $6.5 million a year for security and monitoring, which includes about $6.4 million for our School Liaison Officer (SLO) program,” said Miller. “The state recently added to the yearly school safety allotment and gives us about $1 million, which is not enough to maintain our security standards.

The CCISD Board of Trustees also voted unanimously in August to include a Voter Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) on the November 7 ballot under Proposition A. Funding for the SLO program is included in this proposition as salaries are paid through the Maintenance and Operation Tax Rate.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 7, and early voting begins Monday, October 23. The last date to register to vote is October 10. The school district is hosting a series of meetings through October to share information about the November 7 Election. Visit ccisd.net/electioncentral for more details on the three propositions.