AUSTIN, Texas — After tragic events like the mass shooting in Uvalde, the State of Texas has allocated $105 million for school safety and mental health programs.
Local school districts are proposing more funding to make campuses safer for students and staff.
Fred Burton, a former counter terrorism special agent who is now the executive director of Ontic Center for Protective Intelligence, said tragedy forces change.
"This is that kind of knee-jerk reaction where people throw a lot of money at problems such as this and try to find physical security solutions," Burton said.
Burton said making changes to school campuses isn't the only solution.
"It's just not a physical security issue. There's a mental health aspect to this. There's a community awareness aspect," Burton said.
From his experience with tragic events, Burton said it all begins with the attacker.
"They leave a rabbit trail of crumbs, what is called leakage of what they're planning to do, and that's where these kinds of hard calls have to be made by friends and family and coworkers and fellow students," Burton said.
Burton said an attacker usually examines the security measures in place and then formulates their attack.
"You can throw all the money you want at this problem, but it really boils down to a community effort," Burton said.
While safety features at schools may help some attacks from happening, Burton said it's crucial for everyone to report things that seem off because you could be saving lives.
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