BY ZARA FLORES
Law enforcement staffing in Hays County
The outlook
What they’re saying
All law enforcement entities in Hays County are dealing with staffing issues on different scales. Vacant Staff ed
Even if funding was not a problem for HCISD, providing every campus with an armed guard poses a challenge as the Hays County Sheriff’s Office is down nearly a fifth of being fully-staffed. “Obviously, we would love to be able to staff every school in this county to ensure there is a school resource officer [on every campus],” Sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Hipolito said. “Unfor- tunately, due to staffing levels, we can’t meet that demand at this point.” At the suggestion of San Marcos police Chief Stan Standridge, SMCISD began to develop a school marshal program, which rolled out at the start of the 2023-24 school year. The program enlists individuals with a law enforcement back- ground to serve as a school’s guard; however, they are plain-clothes officers and operate incognito. The district’s committee will work to find the best solution for the district, which could be a hybrid solution much like what is in place now with SROs and marshals.
“It is my hope that the state politicians who passed HB 3 will now step up to fully fund our school marshals instead
of the minimal increase in school safety allotment.” MICHAEL CARDONA, SAN MARCOS CISD SUPERINTENDENT
15.38% Vacant
17.92% Vacant
Hays County Sheriff 's O ffi ce
San Marcos Police Department
“In order for us to get completely sta ed, … we are pledging another $1.9 million to fund SROs at each one of our campuses.” ERIC WRIGHT, HAYS CISD SUPERINTENDENT
4% Vacant
14.28% Vacant
Kyle Police Department
Buda Police Department
SOURCES: BUDA POLICE DEPARTMENT, KYLE POLICE DEPARTMENT, SAN MARCOS POLICE DEPARTMENT, HAYS COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
One more thing
The resources include:
District officials are hoping for more guidance from the TEA. “TEA does not have any guidance or support for us, just another way to fail public education,” Orosco said. The TEA did not respond to requests for input regarding this comment but did share resources provided to districts.
$1.1 billion in grant funding to become available following a needs assessment A required webinar regarding armed security, including guidance on good cause exceptions Guidance to school districts regarding communication with parents
A dashboard for transparent communication for school districts, education service centers and the TEA A video explaining HB 3 with guidance on the various aspects of the bill
BUILDING BRIGHTER FUTURES since 1973
Angels & Mistletoe Holiday Market 2023
Embassy Suites Hotel & Conference Center San Marcos, Texas Nov 24th - 26th 2023
austincc.edu
21
SAN MARCOS - BUDA - KYLE EDITION
Powered by FlippingBook