SHARING A BORDER

“The tremendous growth and prosperity we are experiencing up and down the I35 corridor between Bell and Williamson counties should energize a spirit of collaboration on issues important to our communities and our continued success. I look forward to celebrating our victories together, solving our shared problems together, and leading our great state as true regional partners.” ~Rep. Buckley

Education

Rep. Buckley said the state is building a relationship and a brick-andmortar research center that will link soldiers at Fort Hood, the University of Texas, Texas A&M Central Texas, and the Army Futures Command. Their proximity will put new technology in the hands of soldiers “to try to break it and put it back on the drawing board quickly to make it work. There are big ideas being dreamed up in Austin, built across several municipalities, then tested in Central Texas.”

He is eager to see forward progress on the research park; “We will be taking big ideas, making them reality, and it won’t take 15 years to do it because there will also be private partners to push through the development.” He specified that among other projects the TAMU Central Texas campus now has the ninth largest R&D funding for cybersecurity development. “We got there much faster than the system thought we would thanks to Congressman John Carter who facilitated and supported the linkage between Futures Command and Texas A&M CTX, and we will continue to be a major player.”

School Safety

In 2019, the House passed a bill that created school safety committees. These committees facilitate annual board meetings with members of the ISD communities to discuss where each might be vulnerable, and how they can be on the ball at all times.

Even with the progress to date, Rep. Buckley said there is still more to be done. “I think we need to create a funding stream that will allow ISDs to respond to their own unique needs what Round Rock needs is not what Killeen needs, and both are totally different than Bartlett. Everyone recognizes that hardening is expensive but there are new technologies that can come into play, plus additional mental health counseling to help identify the kids in crisis.” He added that the state needs to address the needs in per-pupil funding that reflects the diversity of the school districts across the state, and recommended constituents read the public report by the Investigative Committee on the Robb Elementary shooting (QR code) to prepare for their respective meetings. “The committee did not exonerate anyone in the report but it addressed things like keeping building schematics current with 9-1-1, communicating with and preventing parents from swarming the schools. We have to anticipate that outside agencies will block the roads.”

Subjectively, Rep. Buckley believes it comes down to creating a culture of doing the right thing every time. “There can be no compromise, which is why we need to be deliberate and use common sense. I voted for a bill that, among other things, simply required that police officers have and know how to use a tourniquet. We have to think of the unthinkable.”

Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell, Jr. says, “It’s incredibly important that Williamson County work collaboratively with its neighboring counties. Not just for our success but for theirs as well. It’s easy to work with Bell County because of good leadership that is currently in place, from the county courthouse to the state house. We work together as often as we need, including and particularly under unfortunate circumstances. We have worked together in the past after tornadoes for instance. That collaborative relationship will continue.”

He adds, “I have found State Representative Buckley to be a humble and earnest man who is passionate about his community and his work. He’s easy to work with because he cares about others.”

While not able to divulge details, Judge Gravell affirmed that Williamson County and Bell County are currently collaborating on at least one megaproject in the pipeline.

by Ben Lake