Education
BY BROOKE SJOBERG
District works to staff schools with officers Round Rock ISD will use alternative means to meet new safety requirements as it works to staff each of its 55 campuses with armed officers amid a
Superintendent to stay on through 2026 Round Rock ISD officials elected to extend Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez’s employment contract through 2026. What happened The district’s board of trustees voted to extend Azaiez’s contract through June 2026 at a Sept. 27 meeting. It is the second time the board has extended the superinten- dent’s contract, as it did so in 2022. He was first hired in 2021 with a three-year contract set to end in 2024. “Dr. Azaiez is focused on improving outcomes and expanding opportunities for Round Rock ISD students and also on supporting our teachers so we continue to attract and retain the world-class educators that make us a destination district,” board President Amber Landrum said.
24 The number of officers currently staffing the Round Rock ISD Police Department. 44 The number of officers needed to have one officer at each campus. $6.6M The approximate cost to expand to a total of 68 officers. 2026 The year Chief Weiner anticipates being able to fully staff the district’s police department. Expanding the department HB 3 allows districts to pursue alternative measures until they meet staffing requirements.
staffing shortage. What’s happening
RRISD Police Department Chief Dennis Weiner and district Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez pro- vided updates to the board of trustees Sept. 21 on their plans to address new safety requirements under House Bill 3. The law went into effect Sept. 1, and mandates all Texas public and charter schools to staff campuses with armed security officers or find another way of satisfying the requirement. Some context Weiner said the district has had difficulties staff- ing positions. To immediately comply with the
SOURCE: ROUND ROCK ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
law, the district has put out a request for security services to cover elementary campuses. RRISD Chief Financial Officer Dennis Coving- ton said the first year of the program is funded between a public safety grant and the $15,000 per-campus allocation from the state included in the law. For the following school years, the plan will come down to budget decisions.
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