St. Landry sheriff wants to tighten security in St. Landry schools after Texas shooting

St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz is planning to confer with district school officials next week about instituting possible improvements that he says are needed for safety on rural campuses in the aftermath of the massacre at a Texas elementary school

“Right now I’m uncomfortable with the situation that we have at our rural schools," Guidroz said in an interview with the Daily World. "Our school officials are going to need to find some more funding whether it’s through the federal or the state, because in my opinion our schools are not that secure right now.”

The comments by Guidroz came as the Sheriff’s Department and the St. Landry Parish School District are beginning the renegotiation of an annual contract that allows Guidroz to provide school resource officers for Beau Chene, North Central and Northwest high schools in addition to the elementary and middle school campuses outside incorporated areas.

According to a Monday night executive committee decision, Superintendent Patrick Jenkins was given the authority to renegotiate a contract with the Sheriff’s Department at a cost of $82,000, which if approved June 2 will provide deputies for the three high school campuses and their feeder school programs.

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Guidroz said that he will request to appear on the June 2 School Board meeting agenda with information from state law that he feels could give the district more latitude in tightening school security.

“What I am concerned the most right now is providing more security for the school buildings," he said. "It appears from state statutes that I have been reading that state law requires locked doors in schools.

"There is technology available from what I understand that allows doors to be locked ... with a key fob device so that anyone from the outside can’t just walk in to a school or a classroom.”

Guidroz noted that the School District administrative office and resource center in Opelousas appear to have adequate security. Guidroz said he would like to see the same level of security provided at school sites.

He said the school resource officers’ contract between the Sheriff’s Department and the district may not be strong enough to give the type of blanket security Guidroz believes is necessary.

“Right now we are providing resource officers at the three high schools, but at some time during the day those officers who are trained may have to leave and go to the feeder schools to which they are also assigned,” Guidroz said.

Board member Randy Wagley, who works as a prosecutor in the St. Landry District Attorney’s Office, said school safety is a concern that board members have to address with more urgency.

“There’s no doubt about that," Wagley said. "One of the first thing that comes to mind is that most of our elementary schools are outside loaded, meaning they have doors that also open to the outside of the classrooms. It’s a real problem, but I don’t know how to fix it.”

Like Guidroz, Wagley said that in order to institute better school safety more money will be needed from sources other than district revenues.

“We (board members) talk about the safety at our schools all the time," Wagley said. "We have ideas, but nothing gets done. One of the problems is funding. A lot of money from the federal government and the state will have to be involved.

"What’s obvious is we need to limit the access into some of these schools and develop some type of parish plan to do that.”

During the committee discussion Monday night, Jenkins said that the Sheriff’s Department resource officers who are hired at the rural schools will be trained and post certified in handling issues that occur on campuses.

Board member Mary Ellen Donatto said resource officers provided by the Sheriff’s Department will not be employees of the School District.

Several committee members questioned Jenkins about security at schools in Opelousas and Eunice.

Jenkins reminded the committee that board members approved hiring a police officer for Opelousas High and Opelousas Junior High last year.

However Jenkins said the Opelousas Police Department is experiencing an officer shortage.

“We have someone provided by the chief (of police) who goes to the schools, but sometimes that is not every single day," Jenkins said. "We are also getting help from the (Opelousas) Marshal’s Office for the alternative school and at OHS and OJ.”

Jenkins said the Eunice Police Department has been unable to provide security for schools in the city.

“I haven’t talked to the marshal’s office in Eunice,” Jenkins said.

This article originally appeared on Opelousas Daily World: St. Landry sheriff wants to tighten security in St. Landry schools