Townhall meeting GCCISD representatives: Dr. Randal O’Brien, Superintendent; Gary Lackey, Director of Cybersecurity; Davis Smith, GCCISD Chief of Police; Matt Flood, Chief Technology Officer, and Robert Marquez, Director of Safe and Secure Schools.

Texas Representative Invites Local Districts to Safety Townhall

By: Kristyn Hunt Cathey, APR – Director of Communications

Texas Representative Ana Hernandez hosted a Safe Schools Townhall on August 3rd to kick off the new school year. Representative Hernandez served as the master of ceremonies, designed to provide the opportunity for local area school districts to share the measures taken to ensure parents and community members that their children are being provided safe learning environments before returning to school. Galena Park ISD served as the host school with superintendent Dr. John Moore leading the conversation for his safe and secure team members, while Channelview ISD superintendent Dr. Tory Hill lead his district’s discussion and Goose Creek CISD superintendent Dr. Randal O’Brien provided the recap for his district.

Representative Hernandez asked each district leader to provide opening remarks to highlight existing efforts, as well as new security measures taken for the 22-23 school year. Once the introductory comments were provided, Rep. Hernandez invited each school district to allow the experts in their respective fields of school security to present and answer questions from the audience of parents, employees and concerned citizens.

GCCISD Technology department leaders, Gary Lackey, Director of Cybersecurity and Matt Flood, Chief Technology Officer, gave insight into the district’s efforts in keeping students and staff safe. “School safety goes beyond the immediate physical threats,” Lackey said. “They can also be emotional (like cyber bullying) or a data breach that could ruin a child’s credit score for many years to come.” Flood chimed in. “Many tools, services and resources are utilized to keep our children safe and secure in the many facets of their lives.” Robert Marquez, Director of Safe and Secure Schools for Goose Creek CISD, spoke on the intersection of student behavior and safety. “We all agree there must be a focus on improving the behavior and culture of safety and security,” he said. “If we see something; we say something and do something.” Davis Smith, Goose Creek CISD Chief of Police, echoed the sentiments of the group. “It is important that district police officers are visible in our schools and our communities,” he said. “We want our families to know that we are here to protect and serve and keep our students and staff safe at all times.”

Superintendent O’Brien spoke highly of his experience at the event. “I think it was a proactive step to have Representative Ana Hernandez invite her education partners to a public forum to provide reasonable assurances to our students, their respective families, and the community at large, in order that they may have confidence in sending their students back to a new school year with confidence,” he said. “We certainly cannot predict evil, but we can prepare for it as a reality in the world in which we live. Our team is doing a great job in collaboration with all neighboring agencies to maximize our effectiveness with student and staff safety.”

Representative Hernandez will represent the downtown and old Baytown area in 2023 after the redistricting cycle.

Photo by Carrie Pryor-Newman