Districts still need more officers as law calls for one per campus

Alief, Texas (KTRK) — Alief Independent School District Police Chief Dan Turner spends more than half his time trying to recruit and hire officers to comply with a new law that mandates an armed individual on every campus. As the school year concludes, the district still has 25 officer vacancies.

“It takes a special person to be a police officer. You put your life on the line every day. You never know what you’re walking into or what you’re walking away from, and it’s going to take a strong-willed person to make the decision to do that every day,” Turner told 13 Investigates.

Alief ISD is competing with districts statewide to hire officers after House Bill 3 went into effect on September 1. This law requires “at least one armed security officer is present during regular school hours at each district campus,” providing districts just $15,000 per campus and an additional $10 per student to help fund the mandate.

If a school district cannot employ an armed officer due to funding or staffing issues, the law allows the district to claim a “good cause exemption,” necessitating the development of an alternative safety plan approved by their school board. This alternative plan can include hiring a school marshal with 80 hours of training or arming an employee who has completed school safety training.

Some districts unable to hire an officer are relying on security guards. The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is utilizing the “good cause exemption” while working to staff all 274 campuses with officers or a “uniformed armed security guard” over the next three years.

“The safety of our students and staff is always our top priority,” HISD said in a statement to 13 Investigates. “This exemption will be pursued alongside the submission of an alternative safety plan. Our ongoing efforts are directed towards crafting a comprehensive plan that aligns fully with legal requirements.”

In a letter from HISD Police Chief Shamara Garner, the district confirmed it has police officers at all middle and high school campuses but not at elementary schools. “HISD will add armed security guards at all of our elementary schools over the next three years,” Garner said. “They are employed by a private licensed company and are not HISD police officers. Guards must undergo a background check and will not regularly interact with students.”

Chief Turner emphasized the importance of child interaction for prevention. “You have to want to work with kids. If you don’t want to work with kids, then you can’t work for me,” he said. “We do intervention before enforcement. Kids are going to make mistakes, so the officers aren’t only there to protect the school. We have a lot of other mechanisms in place, but the officers are there to make sure that the students, staff, and parents all feel safe.”

Alief Superintendent Dr. Anthony Mays highlighted the district’s commitment to maintaining high standards for armed personnel on campuses, choosing only to hire licensed peace officers. “We’d rather take our time to get that officer that fits what Alief is looking for versus just taking a shortcut that may be there for us,” Mays said. He also expressed concerns about the adequacy of funding provided by the state.

Alief ISD’s starting salary for an officer is $53,000, and the district is operating with a significant funding gap. “It cost me over $1 million to actually be in compliance with the mandate,” Mays said. Despite these challenges, he remains optimistic that state leaders will recognize the funding issues and address them in the next session.

Chief Turner noted that Alief ISD mostly hires experienced officers who have retired from larger city or county police agencies and are seeking a different environment. However, finding officers who meet their standards has been difficult. “The intent was good, but I don’t think the research was done for us to be able to mandate the intent,” Turner said.

The passage of House Bill 3 followed the Uvalde tragedy, where 19 children and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022. Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, one of the bill’s sponsors, acknowledged the shortfall in funding provided to districts. “I think lawmakers in the Senate failed these districts. Absolutely,” Moody said. “We should have security, but if we’re going to make that requirement, then we’ve got to fund it.”

As the legislative session convenes again in January, Moody expressed support for any bill that provides public schools with the necessary funding to ensure safety. “We need to send the dollars to those schools, and we did not do that,” he said.