‘That is not normal for a community of our size and scope’

BUDA — The Hays County community is continuing to fight the fentanyl crisis. This time, it enlisted the help of state representatives.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) joined various Hays CISD and law enforcement officials on Feb. 23 at Johnson High School for a roundtable discussion and press conference.

The roundtable also included a few people close to the heart of the crisis: Brandon Dunn and Janel Rodriguez, parents of 15-year-old Noah, and Darren and Shannon McConville, parents of 17-year-old Kevin, both students who died in 2022 from fentanyl poisonings. Hays CISD Student Advisory Council Members Ryan Weeks and Alyssa Jones also joined to share their perspectives as students.

According to Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett, the department received 26 calls for service for fentanyl overdoses in 2022, eight of which resulted in the deaths of four juveniles (17 and under) and four adults.

“That is an anomaly,” Barnett said. “That is not normal for a community of our size and scope.”

Pictured left, Brandon Dunn and Janel Rodriguez sit with Hays CISD Chief Safety and Security Officer Jeri Skrocki, right. After their 15-year-old son Noah died from a fentanyl poisoning in August 2022, the Rodriguez-Dunns have been active in fighting the fentanyl crisis — booking local speaking engagements, traveling to speak in front of the House Judiciary Committee and creating the Forever 15 Project. Photo by Brittany Anderson

Barnett added that establishing partnerships between law enforcement agencies and school districts has been “vital” in investigating and spreading awareness, something that Hays County Sheriff Deputy Anthony Hipolito has been a large part of. Hipolito leads a task force on fentanyl education around the community, making more than 40 presentations since September.

“Not a lot of people know about fentanyl so we just want to inform as much as possible,” Hipolito said. “The kids these days have to deal with a lot more stressors than what we had to deal with as kids, probably because of social media … The kids are battling anxiety, depression, their boyfriend or girlfriend broke up with them, their parents are going through a divorce, they’re getting bullied at school, bullied on social media. There’s a variety of different reasons why someone decides to take that drug.”

“I don’t think we’re ever going to win the war on drugs; I’ve been a cop for 24-plus years and we continue to see the flow of narcotics into this country,” he added. “But we can win battles and that’s what I really try to focus on. We can win battles here and there.”

The McConvilles and Rodriguez-Dunns joined the discussion to share their sons’ stories and thoughts on what they believe needs to be done to adequately address the crisis. Darren and Shannon called for increasing border security, saying that doing so would help stop the flow of drugs like fentanyl into the country.

They also do not believe more sanctions will help.

“I think about how many lives could have been saved if our politicians worked together to protect American citizens,” Shannon said. “Nothing is going to bring my son back. Enforce the laws to protect American citizens, please.”

For Rodriguez, losing Noah has cemented her stance against treatment centers that require minor’s consent. Before his death, Noah had a run-in with law enforcement which put him on juvenile probation. He was ordered to attend a weekly rehabilitation program, which he was no longer required to attend at the end of his probation period. However, he ended up accidentally overdosing in May 2022, three months before his death.

“During this time in the hospital I attempted to reach out to various rehab centers to get Noah treatment. At every turn, I was told that unless Noah agreed to go, I could not enter him into rehab,” Rodriguez said. “I was very frustrated … Why is a minor’s consent needed for drug rehabilitation? I know it would have been something Noah complained about daily, but he would have stuck with the program and it may have ended up saving his life. Sadly, we will never get that chance.”

Hays CISD Student Advisory Council Members Ryan Weeks and Alyssa Jones, pictured here, show Sen. Cornyn some of the fentanyl awareness campaigns that have been created. Photo by Brittany Anderson

Students like Weeks and Jones have also stepped up through the Student Advisory Council to help be a voice for the friends, classmates and teachers of those who have died, spearheading social media campaigns to spread awareness messages.

“I’ve grown up in Kyle my whole life; I’ve watched the city grow. I can count on one hand how many high schools we have in Hays CISD, but what I cannot count on one hand is how many students I’ve seen affected by addiction,” Jones said through tears. “What I cannot count on one hand is how many doses of Narcan are in our district at one time. And unfortunately, what I can’t count at all is how many students have lost their lives to fentanyl. You walk through school and you see the fear on teachers’ faces, not only following new safety protocols that have been instilled following school shootings and gun violence, but now facing a new epidemic, a new danger. A silent killer.”

Following the roundtable, Cornyn held a press conference to speak on his plans. He said he is “bewildered by the carelessness” the federal government has regarding the national border and pledged to provide more training and resources for law enforcement through his Fentanyl RESPONSE Act.

“It is beyond frustrating — it actually makes me angry — that the federal government has not done its job,” Cornyn said. “Right now, we know that there are hundreds of thousands of ‘got-aways’ that are not turning themselves in and claiming asylum. They’re not economic migrants; these are people who were smuggling drugs or who have other criminal activity that they don’t want to get caught by the border patrol.”

Cornyn noted that it’s going to require “better technology, physical infrastructure and ‘boots on the ground’” to hold fentanyl dealers accountable and that border security is the first step before reforming the “broken immigration system.”

“Obviously everybody’s got a different role to play, but for me and my job, my responsibility is representing the 35 million Texans in the United States Senate. I’m going to go back with this message and the stories [that] these brave families have told,” Cornyn said.

More information and resources on fentanyl awareness in Hays CISD can be found at www.hayscisd.net/fentanyl.