AUSTIN -- Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has called for more secure entrances to public schools since a mass shooting in Galveston County in May, on Monday announced he's donating up to 10 metal detectors to the Santa Fe Independent School District.

A Dallas-area company offered to supplement Patrick's offer with a gift of additional metal detectors and staff expertise.

Together with a grant program Patrick also proposed Monday, which would financially assist other districts that want to buy metal detectors or hand-held security wands, the effort is designed to assuage parents alarmed about security at schools in the coming academic year.

Patrick cast it as a stopgap — not a cure-all, but what he called a step toward better school safety.

"We know we need a comprehensive plan to secure our schools statewide and there is no 'one-size-fits-all' strategy," he said in a written statement. "Each district will decide the path best for them."

Too little too late?

Houston accountant and businessman Mike Collier, Patrick's Democratic foe in the Nov. 6 election, dismissed the Republican incumbent's action as another example of "do-nothing leadership."

In a written statement, Collier noted that Patrick has called for arming more teachers.

"Dan Patrick's largely symbolic gesture does almost nothing to keep schools safe," he said. "His clear preference for more guns in schools runs counter to what Texans want."

Collier also noted that a special Senate panel that Patrick created after the Santa Fe school shooting won't issue a final report until the end of this month. The panel has held two hearings. It has two more scheduled later this month.

"His special committee report will not be delivered in time to make our schools safe when students return in a few weeks," Collier said.

Patrick spokeswoman Sherry Sylvester declined to respond.

Sylvester said she didn't know how much the metal detectors that Patrick is donating would cost.

"The lieutenant governor's contribution will be a combination of personal and political funds," she said.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (from left), Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick spoke during a press conference about the shooting at Santa Fe High School on May 18, 2018 in Santa Fe, Texas. At least 10 people were killed when a gunman opened fire. (Bob Levey / Getty Images)

In a statement Monday

, Santa Fe assistant school superintendent Patti Hanssard

"Santa Fe ISD thanks the lieutenant governor for his generous offer to make this donation," she said. Further meetings to discuss security and mental health services for students will be held soon, Hanssard said.

Garland company's offer

Steve Novakovich, chief executive of Garrett Metal Detectors of Garland, said the company is offering for free to the Santa Fe district a "comprehensive metal detection program," which includes security assessment, metal detectors, installation and training.

Novakovich stressed that the district hasn't accepted the offers from his firm and Patrick. Final cost "depends on exactly what they need," he said.

Eleanor Garrett, the company's president and widow of its founder Charles Lewis Garrett, was a school teacher in Nederlands and Garland for many years. She was horrified by the Santa Fe massacre, Novakovich said.

"Mrs. Garrett's heart went out to the school district after the shooting, and she wanted to do something significant to help," he said.

The company, which derives slightly more than half of its revenue from security equipment, started as a creator of devices for hobbyists who searched for metal in the ground, he said.

Novakovich said the firm is "already having a record year in our other products," and isn't seeking to gain an edge for selling lots of equipment to Texas school districts.

"This isn't really about increasing sales for Garrett, this is really about trying to help the communities," he said.

On May 18, a shooter entered an arts complex at Santa Fe High and opened fire, killing 10 and wounding 13 others. Police arrested a suspect, whom they later identified as Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old student at the school.

Patrick, who along with Gov. Greg Abbott rushed to the scene, drew national attention when he called for fewer school entrances and exits.

"There are too many entrances and too many exits to our over 8,000 campuses in Texas," Patrick said May 18.

The line mirrored what the National Rifle Association has been saying about school safety. As the Washington Post noted, it quickly became "a punchline about how Republicans would rather restrict doors than guns."

Demands for action

Since the shooting, parents and residents of the Santa Fe district have organized themselves. Some are demanding quick action by school board trustees to improve security before school resumes.

Patrick referred to recent reports by Houston's KHOU 11-TV and KTRK-TV about the parents' concerns.

"Santa Fe parents have asked for immediate action to secure the entrances to their schools, and I want to make sure that if the Santa Fe ISD school board wants to install metal detectors, they can do so," he said.

He also promised that next year, state lawmakers would create a "matching fund program" to help reimburse other districts choosing to install detectors or buy wands.

Districts could buy the equipment before the new school year starts and "be reimbursed retroactively through the matching program," Patrick said, offering no details.

The Legislature convenes on Jan. 8.