Well, that’s one solution.  A North Texas charter school has voted in favor of putting a police substation on campus because “horrific things can happen anywhere.” The plan, please note, was approved one week before the Florida mass shooting.  Working in conjunction with the city council, Westlake Academy will put in a substation of the Keller Police department. It probably didn’t hurt that the president of the Westlake Academy school board is also the mayor of Westlake.

“There was no one particular incident that prompted this plan. The atrocities that occurred at Sandy Hook, and Columbine before that, confirm that horrific things can happen anywhere,” Laura Wheat, the president of the Westlake Academy school board and mayor of Westlake, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  

Keller Police Chief Michael Williams describes the school campus as “non-traditional” and this plan plugs potential security gaps.

Keller Police Chief Michael Wilson, whose department has provided law enforcement service to Westlake since 2002, said the plan was inspired by “what we’ve seen throughout our country” along with the findings of security audits done for the unique campus.

“Westlake Academy is a very nontraditional campus. It’s not built like a typical school; it’s more like a corporate campus,” Wilson said.

“We knew if we were going to try to close any potential security gaps, we couldn’t do that with a that with a traditional approach.”

A new building will not be necessary. Existing space will be used by the police department on campus.

Wilson said that rather than constructing a new building, existing space will be repurposed to accommodate the police station. Westlake communications manager Jon Sasser said that will cost the town about $25,000.

Work on the substation is set to begin this month and is expected to be complete by the end of spring, according to a news release.