Some 200 Miles From Leander, Santa Fe Shooting Hits Close To Home

LEANDER, TX — Leander might be more than 200 miles to the northeast of Santa Fe, Texas. But Friday's violence in yet another school shooting — this time along the Texas Gulf Coast just outside Houston — hit close to home locally.

Despite the distance in geography, Leander officials reached out to their Gulf Coast counterparts via messages of support in the shooting's wake while extending available resources to Leander students having difficulty processing the latest violent incident in environments that are supposed to be safe, not the focus of those intent on bloodshed.

"We are greatly saddened by the events that took place today at Santa Fe High School," Leander ISD Superintendent Dan Troxell wrote in a message to parents, teachers, students and staff. "This senseless tragedy has profoundly affected our community, our state and our nation. We extend our deepest sympathies to the victims, their families and the greater Santa Fe community."

As students excitedly prepared for graduation just a couple of weeks away, fellow pupil Dimitrios Pagourtzis arrived at Santa Fe High School donned in the familiar trench coat he wore year-round and armed with both a shotgun and .38 revolver. By the time he was done shooting, nine students and a faculty were dead and several others wounded.

While the violence happened more than 200 miles away from Leander, it hit close to home given the shared ideals of teaching children. Such violence and bloodshed in schools has become inexplicably commonplace in a nation where millions love their guns, tirelessly citing the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as evidence of their demand for unfettered access to them — even the high=powered variety capable of firing hundreds of rounds per minute clearly meant for theaters of war that were unimaginable to the 18th-century minds of the Founding Fathers when they drafted the right-to-bear-arms safeguard.

But debates over stricter gun laws are happening elsewhere, one might say at higher levels than Leander ISD. Of more immediate concern for this Williamson County school district covering 200 square miles, is to assuage the fears and anxieties many of the nearly 40,000 students it serves are undoubtedly experiencing.

"As superintendent of LISD, I go to work each day knowing our top priority is always the safety and security of our students, and we are committed to continuing every effort to ensure your child is safe while they are in our care," Troxell wrote. "We will continue to explore, to collaborate with other school districts and to partner with law enforcement agencies to find new ways to improve safety and security."

He urged anxious students to avail themselves of the robust counseling services offered by the district, including school counselors, Licensed Professional Counselors and Social Workers able to meet their emotional needs.

"Our district also employs licensed specialists in school psychology (LSSP) to work with students experiencing difficult times in their lives or emotional distress that may be caused by tragedies like this one," Troxell wrote. "Please know these resources are always available to your student."

Troxell ended his letter by encouraging students and others to share any information about any potential threats to their schools — via the district's anonymous alert system if need be or notifying a school staff member, principal or counselor.

"Please keep the Santa Fe community in your thoughts," the superintend wrote. "There are a lot of people hurting right now from wounds that will never fully heal."

Members of the board of trustees also wrote a message to the Leander ISD community: "There are no words to express our sense of loss and heartbreak after the tragic events in Santa Fe," members wrote in part. "A place of learning should never be the setting for violence, yet the loss of young life has once again touched our state and nation. We share in the anger and grief of the Santa Fe community and extend our offers of support."

Members suggested a proactive approach practiced by Leander ISD rather than a reactive one in the wake of violent episodes is an ideal long practiced locally, and one that will be reinforced in light of the latest mass shooting just outside Houston, coming some three months after the Feb. 14 slaughter of 17 — 14 students and three staff members — at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

"Leander ISD staff work tirelessly to engage each student and respond to their emotional and educational needs. Counseling resources are available on every campus, with caring teachers and staff ready to assist any student that is going through a difficult time or who feels emotionally isolated," trustees wrote.

The Leander ISD board of trustees comprises Pamela Waggoner; Will Streit; Don Hisle; Trish Bode; Grace S. Barber-Jordan; Jim MacKay; and Aaron Johnson.

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