Fort Bend County Officials Discuss School Safety

KATY MAGAZINE NEWS

August 2, 2022

By Natalie Cook Clark

Katy ISD students return to school for the 2022-2022 academic year this month. The District in unique in spanning their 72 schools and over 90,000 students over more than one county. Fort Bend County officials today held a briefing to discuss school safety ahead.

Photo courtesy FBCSO

Katy ISD Returns to School this Month

Katy ISD schools’ welcome students back to class for the new academic session on August 17, 2022. One of the most mentioned Katy parent questions on Katy Magazine’s social media call for what parents want to know was about school safety.

“Our most precious possession not just in Fort Bend County, but our nation is our children,” says Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan. “Shooters look for soft targets. Our school are not soft targets.”

Katy schools reside in both Harris County and Fort Bend County. Today Fort Bend officials held a briefing to discuss school safety.

Fort Bend Cares about School Safety

Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan, Representative Jacey Jetton (Texas House District 26), and Representative Ron Reynolds (Texas House District 27), all briefed media today regarding school safety and emergency preparedness. They discussed how the partnership of state, county, municipal, and school district officials continue to work together to help maintain a secure environment to keep Fort Bend County students safe.

“We are concerned about our children,” says Sheriff Fagan. “Whatever agency is there first will be in charge. They won’t hesitate, they will go in knowing help is on the way. This is what we signed up for.”

As law enforcement agencies and school districts across the nation reevaluate their emergency preparedness and training plans ahead of the new school year, Fort Bend County, Texas deputies, police, school district, and community officials constantly train in hopes of avoiding school shootings and improving first responder capabilities and intelligence gathering.

“What happened in Uvalde was a lapse, but people in Fort Bend County need to understand that we care about our children and their safety,” says Representative Ron Reynolds.

Sheriff Fagan pledged that Fort Bend County Sheriff Deputies will actively patrol schools when they are waiting on calls. They will check doors and safety protocols routinely.

The biggest deterrent according to officials is the visual presence of law enforcement. However, Sheriff Fagan stressed that not all protocols can be shared out of safety concerns and not wanting to share their procedures with potential “bad guys.”

“That shooter in Uvalde and most shooters have mental issues,” answered Sheriff Fagan when asked about how police presence didn’t deter the shooter in Uvalde. “We can’t guarantee someone will be deterred but we can guarantee a greater police presence.”

“If an active shooting event is happening our officers know that you do not wait for permission, you already have that permission to go in,” says Sheriff Fagan.

Sheriff Fagan says that all area superintendents, including Katy ISD’s Dr. Ken Gregorski have been very receptive to corporative training.

“We have had extensive training with multiple agencies and school districts to ensure everyone is prepared if the worst happens, however we pray that nothing happens,” says Sheriff Fagan. “Fort Bend County is ready for back-to-school and to keep our children safe.”