Bryan ISD Board of Trustees discusses school safety following recent incidents on campuses

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - The Bryan ISD Board of Trustees met Monday evening, and heard an update on campus safety and security.

This comes less than a week after a Bryan High School student was arrested for bringing a gun to school and on Monday afternoon, a Rudder High School student was arrested for making a false threat about a gun on campus.

One of the main points discussed in the update was communication. District officials said they're committed to transparent communication at all levels.

Bryan ISD has implemented a newer communication guideline that prevents parents from 'opting out' of emergency alerts such as phone calls. Those alerts are available in both English and Spanish, through calls, texts or email.

Other safety and security processes were also discussed.

"In the state of Texas, we are required to keep our exterior school doors closed, latched and locked, all the time, by default," Rich Himmel, assistant director of safety and security, said.

District staff also reviewed the number of safety measures in place at Bryan schools, and broke down the state requirements from the Texas Education Agency.

"We want to make sure that we have everything we need to be prepared to help our staff, our students, or visitors, even," Board President Julie Harlin said.

Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp also attended the board meeting.

The Bryan school board accepted the terms for an agreement that could lead to tax incentives for the district, and benefit the university system's Project Factory One plan.

"What's presented before us today is an opportunity to continue to explore risks and opportunities and impacts on the district in the future as we consider that this is an agreement that would be enacted soon," Harlin added.

Sharp expressed his excitement in a statement, available below.

Just eight years ago, I announced that the Riverside Campus – little more than the remnants of its World War II past – would become a research and development campus.

At the time I said, "It is a big idea, and it is important that the Texas A&M University System nurture big ideas."

Texas A&M-RELLIS far exceeded my expectations.

Today, however, we are on the cusp of re-engineering the future of the Brazos Valley if A&M-RELLIS becomes the site for a "first of its kind" semiconductor manufacturing plant.

Indeed, Project Factory One, as we dubbed it, would generate staggering numbers over the first four decades of the project: $12.6 billion in local tax revenues and $832 billion in economic impact.

Of course, the Texas A&M System hasn't pursued this critical project alone.

For more than a year-and-a-half, our community has competed with communities in other states, particularly Oregon and New York, to become the site. The Brazos Valley Economic Development Corporation, the city of Bryan, Brazos County and the Bryan Independent School District have joined us.

Senator John Cornyn and U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul have given their full-throated support. Gov. Greg Abbott and his economic director Adrianna Cruz provided leadership to put Texas in the forefront of the critical chip industry.

And, of course, Texas would not have been in the running except for our state officials who created the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation Act (JETI).

Project Factory One is indeed a big idea, and one I am proud to be a part of. As I have said on several occasions, I believe this project will become the most important economic event in the Brazos Valley since Texas A&M University was founded.