IREDELL, Texas — Bosque County schools and law enforcement are joining together to improve school safety plans in the wake of the Uvalde massacre.
At a meeting of Bosque County school district leaders, superintendents met with Bosque County sheriff Trace Hendricks on Tuesday. Hendricks updated community members on the meeting via a Facebook post on Wednesday afternoon.
School leaders discussed how to create a greater level of security for students and staff. Options included school resource officer programs, law enforcement training and "guardian programs" which would arm some school employees.
"Overall, the meeting was a step in the right direction as we work together to provide the highest level of safety possible for our schools," Hendricks wrote.
One of the districts in attendance was Iredell ISD, located in western Bosque County and with just over 140 students. Superintendent Ben Eubanks said the tragedy in Uvalde served as a reminder of the importance of being prepared.
“We’re gonna do everything in our power proactively and reactively, if a situation should occur, to keep them as safe as we can,” Eubanks said.
Iredell ISD has had its own guardian program for three years now. Eubanks said the program requires an intensive training process for armed school employees.
"It's a systematic process and a plan that we feel is the best way to protect our students and staff," he said.
Such guardian programs have garnered controversy in school safety discussions. In a recent survey from the Texas American Federation of Teachers, 77 percent of school employees responded that they did not want to be armed at school.
