As schools are affected by shootings and attacks across the country, the WACO Community School District is working to make their buildings safer for students.

The district will be outfitting its elementary and secondary schools with security cameras. The secondary building currently has two exterior cameras with limited coverage and no internal cameras, and the elementary building has no cameras. Superintendent Jeff Dicks says these new cameras will provide the ability to monitor the interior and exterior of the buildings and would allow law enforcement to perform off-site monitoring of the system. The total cost of the project is $54,315 and the district recently received a Washington County Riverboat Foundation grant of $26,715 to help fund the project. Dicks says this system will provide safety and peace of mind for staff, students, and parents of WACO Schools, and says student learning happens best when the learning environment is safe.