Changes Coming To Santa Fe High School Ahead Of New School Year

SANTA FE, TX -- Santa Fe High School students will be returning to school on Aug. 20, three months after many of them ran in terror as 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis gunned down 23 students and teachers, leaving 10 of them dead.

When students return they will see some changes inside the school, including new metal detectors when they come into the building. Security vestibules with bulletproof glass have been added to the front entrance, and classrooms have been equipped with panic buttons and special door locks.

The hallway where so many were killed or injured is boarded up and the classrooms and offices where the shooting happened have been relocated.

The changes, which cost just over $1 million, were implemented through recommendations from the district’s safety committee, which formed days after the shooting to come up with preventive solutions.

There have been changes outside of the school, too. The green space in front of the school that became a memorial for those killed and a gathering place of reflection for the Santa Fe community, has been cleared away, possibly for a more permanent memorial.

Santa Fe ISD said in a press release that the 10 crosses set up at the school after the shooting remained there for 45 days, and were donated to the families of those killed.

"Families expressed appreciation for the contact as they were looking forward to having the crosses as a personal memorial. A group of these parents organized a time that they wished to personally pick them up from the site. A sign will be erected in their place indicating the district’s intent to have a permanent SF Strong memorial. A district committee comprised of students, parents, and staff will consider options for a permanent memorial to memorialize the lives lost," the statement read in part.

Additional security personnel and grief counselors will be on the campus when students return to school, officials said.

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