Now that Denton ISD has appointed a director of safety and security, the district is moving ahead with the process to comply with new state laws tightening — and hardening — its campuses.
Mary Martin, the district's newly-appointed director of safety and security, will supervise the district's hiring of school security officers. These newly-created positions are the result of House Bill 3, a new law that requires school districts to staff campuses with armed security officers.
Martin, who has served the district as a teacher at Ryan High School and who has worked in law enforcement, told district leaders and school board members this month that the district will partner with the Denton Police Department to locate licensed peace officers for the new positions. The state will give $15,000 per campus and $10 per student, along with $1.1 billion to the Texas Education Agency to administer grants to help districts fill the security roles.
Courtesy photo
In 2022, lawmakers also approved $400 million to help school districts pay for safety upgrades.
Altogether, those sums look like a lot of money, but funding has become a sticking point for Texas school leaders. In a recent joint meeting with the city of Denton, Denton ISD Superintendent Jamie Wilson said $15,000 was too little to attract a security officer that satisfies both the district and Denton Police Department. Dallas ISD Superintendent Stepahanie Elizade reported earlier this month that, to meet the new requirement, school leaders will likely have to trim extracurriculars, eliminate field trips and transportation, and eventually, lay off teachers and increase class size.
Wilson has been adamant: Denton ISD won't contract the work to a third party chiefly because such an arrangement gives the district less oversight and vetting of job candidates.
Martin said Denton ISD has already brought its first candidates to the district and police department.
"We have interviewed some highly-qualified candidates, and we've made our recommendations to HR," Martin said.
All candidates have to pass drug screening and psychiatric evaluations, and every candidate is measured against the criteria established by the district and the police department.
Martin said candidates have to have an active license with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
"Just like the TEA governs the license of teachers and what all they need to meet the rigors to maintain their school license, TCOLE is the same thing for law enforcement. So with our partnership with Denton PD, we've set a very high standard that our retired law enforcement officers are going to have to continue their education to maintain their license and keep it active.
"Even though they're retired, their commission isn't being carried so they're going to be working for the district as a security officer and not an active commissioned peace officer."
Candidates will have to provide verification that they have been honorably discharged from a police force, or if their discharge was general one, or recommended by internal affairs.
"We're going to require that so we know how they left their agency," Martin said.
Candidates will have to pass the commission's firearms qualification.
"Denton PD has a very rigorous gun qualification that we'll be working up to with our officers," Martin added.
The police department will conduct training for the security officers. The training requirements reflect both the district and the police department's professional expectations, including safe school training, advanced rapid response training, CPR and first aid, among other preparation.
Security officers won't do the same work as school resource officers. Security officers won't provide law enforcement, but will monitor campuses and, if the moment calls for it, will respond to lethal threats as armed officials.
"To have an expert on safety at the campuses will allow, for example, at an elementary school that might be more at risk to have that assistant principal and principal to be more in classrooms and present a more safe face to that campus," said Jeff Russell, Denton ISD area superintendent of academic programs and district safety and a security committee member.
"I appreciate the fact that the board is supporting us in this. There have been some districts that have gone other ways and contracted this out. The fact that we're allowed to vet and choose the type of quality of the person we want to have in our schools says a lot about this district and this community. Just because you put a gun at a school doesn't mean its safer.
"Our goal is to make our kids and staff and families safer."