Here's how Coastal Bend schools are increasing school security

Coastal Bend schools are scaling up their security plans as the new academic year starts − and increasing the presence of armed officers in response to new state legislation.

Lawmakers passed new school safety requirements a year after the deadliest school shooting in Texas, when 21 students and teachers died in Uvalde in May 2022. They go into effect in September.

The school security changes require more mental health training and give the Texas Education Agency more authority over school safety plans. The TEA now has the power to appoint a conservator in districts that fail to submit school safety information or address concerns.

State lawmakers did not increase gun regulations, failing to pass proposed legislation that would have raised the minimum age to buy an AR-style rifle.

One of the most talked about aspects of the changes is a new requirement that school districts have at least one armed officer at every campus during regular school hours. The state did not assign penalties if districts fail to meet the armed officer requirement, allowing school boards to claim exemptions, using alternative plans such as arming trained staff members or hiring a private security firm.

According to a 2020 report by the Texas School Safety Center, between 2017 and 2020, 41% of school districts contracted with local law enforcement agencies and 32% employed law enforcement officers. Most reported contracting or employing between one and five officers.

Just over half reported using some type of non-law enforcement security personnel, including the state’s Guardian Program, which allows schools to arm trained staff.

In most cases, both law enforcement officers and security staff were regularly assigned to high schools and middle schools.

The state also raised the school safety allotment to $10 per student and directed an additional $15,000 per campus to schools in order to implement the changes.

School officials in the Coastal Bend say the state funding isn’t enough to cover the costs.

The $15,000 per campus funding is not enough to pay the salary of an armed officer, Corpus Christi ISD Police Chief Kirby Warnke said. Additionally, any new staff schools bring on will need to be equipped and armed.

Corpus Christi ISD

Corpus Christi ISD, which is served by its own police department, has kept police officers at each middle and high school campus for years. But in previous years, the elementary campuses were served by patrolling police units.

To comply the requirements, CCISD is in the process of hiring 33 new full-time employees.

The district did not consider alternatives like arming existing non-security staff, Warnke said.

“That wasn’t the view that I subscribe to,” Warnke said. “My view is teachers teach, leaders lead and police and security provide police and security services. That’s our job and it’s a focused job.”

Warnke said that the district has tried to fill the positions with as many police officers as possible.

“The problem is, there’s not 33 police officers in the greater Corpus Christi area to hire,” Warnke said.

For positions where the district can’t find a police officer, it is bringing in “senior safety officers.”

“Those are specially trained employees that have been licensed to carry and they’ll be taking the DPS school safety course,” Warnke said.

The senior safety officers must undergo the same psychological evaluation as police officers and will be trained side-by-side with district police, including firearms and active shooting training.

The senior safety officers will serve as armed guards, tasked with protecting the campus.

“The way I describe their job is to be visible, checking the doors regularly,” Warnke said.

Warnke pointed to the example of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, where an intruder was able to enter the school through an unlocked entrance door. The senior safety officers will be tasked with making sure no doors are open or unlocked.

For the campuses without a police officer on-site at all hours, the district will continue the police patrol system, supporting the senior safety officers and addressing law enforcement issues.

Warnke said that before the discussions at the state level, he and CCISD chief human resource officer Debbie Cruz had already begun discussing increasing security staff at the elementary level.

“I don’t know if we would have done 33 in one year, but the idea was being considered,” Warnke said.

The district began hiring in June and intends to have all positions filled by the time the law goes in effect in September. In the long-term, the district will continue to prioritize filling positions with police whenever possible and potentially look into ways to help senior safety officers become commissioned police officers, Warnke said.

Other Coastal Bend schools

West Oso ISD is served by Corpus Christi Police Department and a contracted security company, Superintendent Kimberly Moore said.

Moore said the district has tightened expectations.

“We want to make sure we’re doing every single thing within our control,” Moore said

To make sure all campuses are always covered by an armed guard at all times, the district is making sure there are no gaps in the schedule to make sure no school is left unattended, adding an extra person to cover breaks.

State funding does not cover everything needed to keep students and staff safe, Moore said.

“What they did was add $15,000 per campus plus $10 per student and that doesn’t come close to paying for the cost,” Moore said.

Other security measures include door alarms to alert staff if a door isn’t fully closed or is accidentally left open, and access control points.

In Gregory-Portland ISD, the district added four additional armed security guards to the district school resource officer team, which already included three officers. The district also has unarmed security staff.

The district already has many security measures, executive director of safety and security Michael Thieme said.

“The good thing is we’ve been ahead of the game for a while, since about 2017,” Thieme said. “Our district spent approximately $6 million on hardening facilities and increased security (in 2017).”

Tuloso-Midway ISD Superintendent Steve Van Matre said that the district added one more armed security officer in response to the changes. It is also adding several unarmed security officers.

“The only thing that we were out of compliance with based on the new legislation was that we did not have a separate police officer at our Academic Career Center, which is our alternative campus,” Van Matre said.

The alternative program serves between 30 and 50 students each year.

Beyond of the requirements of the law, the district is also adding metal detectors to the middle and high school campuses, Van Matre said the district added about $200,000 worth of fencing at Tuloso-Midway High School.

Van Matre also approved a request by Tuloso-Midway Intermediate School to implement a clear backpack policy on campus. Other efforts in the district include additional security cameras, a new parent notification system and additional training.

“I feel good about where we’re at,” Van Matre said. “I also know that regardless of what we do, we can’t be 100% certain that an incident is not going to occur. But I can tell our parents I’m 100% certain that we’re doing everything possible to keep our schools safe.”

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Here's how Coastal Bend schools are increasing school security