"The safety of our students is our most important priority, especially as events throughout the state and nation continue to affect them," Cruz said, without mentioning by name the school shooting last month at Santa Fe High School near Galveston in which 10 students and staff were killed.
Five officers would be added to the Austin Independent School District's 78-officer police department and more cameras and call boxes would be installed at all high schools and middle schools in the district, Cruz said.
A Raptor system that performs criminal and sex offender background checks on site, would be upgraded, and another district emergency management staff member would be hired.
A system that tracks students who ride the bus also would be developed, Cruz said.
A public hearing on the proposed budget is slated for June 25.
"We will continue to work together with our students, families, staff, community and law enforcement partners to create campuses that not only are safe, but that make our students feel safe," Cruz said.
The announcement of the proposed safety measures comes nearly a month after the massacre at Santa Fe High School. Three months before the Santa Fe shooting, on Valentine's Day, 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in one of deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.
Texas lawmakers and educators in the wake of the shootings have debated possible ways to protect students. Gov. Greg Abbott recommended expanding mental health evaluations for students and offering firearm training for teachers and other school staff. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick suggested campuses have fewer doors to deny access to would-be shooters.
The Austin school district already has taken some of the steps Abbott recommended, Austin ISD Police Chief Ashley Gonzalez told the American-Statesman earlier this month.
District police officers are trained in crisis intervention tactics, with one officer dedicated to mental health services, Gonzalez said. Mental health clinics also are available to students who need them, he said.
The district's Alternative Learning Center has metal detectors, district officials said.
Gonzalez said he does not want to arm the district's teachers.
"We already have armed police officers in the schools, protecting that," he said. "My feeling is that, I like teachers to concentrate on what they were trained to do and not give them additional responsibilities."
Having a firearm is an additional responsibility, Gonzalez said.
"We have the luxury of having a police department assigned to the district, so I think we're in very good shape," he said.
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