Every weekday morning about 7:30, children dropped off by their parents at Tanglewood Elementary School can unfailingly count on a sight not present at other elementary campuses across Fort Worth ISD 鈥� an armed and uniformed police officer.
Officers Tracy Carter, Vicki Vergara or any one of nearly eight to 10 other off-duty Fort Worth police officers take turns rotating in daily shifts at the affluent west Fort Worth school. The presence of licensed peace officers was set in motion by Tanglewood moms and dads to protect and reassure their kids at a time when the , including deadly attacks at elementary schools in Uvalde and Nashville.
鈥淔irst and foremost, we have to have security in our elementary schools,鈥� says Amber Spurgeon, the mother of two boys at Tanglewood and the president of Texans Against School Violence created by the parents in October. 鈥淪econd, building those relationships between the officers and the students 鈥� that鈥檚 paramount, just seeing those kids light up when they see their officers.鈥�
The course being pursued by the five Tanglewood parents who serve as the group鈥檚 board members effectively prefaced the goal of a massive school safety bill advancing in the 2023 Texas Legislature.
Authored by State Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock, who chaired a legislative investigation into last May鈥檚 mass shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers at Uvalde鈥檚 Robb Elementary, House Bill 3 would require every school district and school charter to post at least one armed security officer on every campus.
Some advocates of the provision have raised concerns that funding may not be budgeted to finance the full extent of school law enforcement protection down to elementary schools, even with a much-touted $33 billion surplus.
Members of Texans Against School Violence plan to meet with lawmakers in Austin early next week to make a case for adequate funding and to discuss various aspects of their pilot program.
Burrows鈥� bill would reportedly provide about $10 for each student for armed officers plus $15,000 for extra safety and security measures. Spurgeon said independent calculations place the cost at $225 per student per year, which totals about $94,000 when stretched out over the 505 students at Tanglewood or comparable-sized schools.
鈥榃e just saw a security gap鈥�
Many middle schools and high schools, including those in Fort Worth ISD, already have school resource officers but funding has never been available to provide the officers in elementary schools.
Until the Tanglewood parents stepped forward with their initiative, Fort Worth had no elementary schools with police protection, say the parents.
Now it has the one at Tanglewood, although the parents are hoping to extend the program to at least one still-undesignated sister campus in a disadvantaged neighborhood in Fort Worth. The school district confirmed that Tanglewood is the only elementary school with armed officers, and that the school鈥檚 parents fund the initiative.
鈥淲hen we realized that nearly a quarter of school shootings occur at elementary schools, and in Fort Worth ISD there鈥檚 not a single elementary school other than Tanglewood that has someone with an armed security guard there,鈥� said treasurer Charity Aughinbaugh. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just too risky.鈥�
In contrast, Fort Worth police assigned 42 school resource officers to 12 high schools and 22 middle schools for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, extending a protective reach to nearly 30,000 students in schools staffed with SROs, according to a breakdown by the police department.
School resource officers are full-time law enforcement officers trained in school-based policing and crisis response, according to police officials. The student-per-officer ratio in 2022-23 amounts to 862-1 in high schools and 520-1 in middle schools, according to Fort Worth police.
The mass slayings at Robb Elementary in Uvalde prompted immediate calls in Fort Worth and elsewhere to extend police protection into elementary schools. Just weeks after the Uvalde attack, Fort Worth council member Chris Nettles called on city officials to come up with funds tosaying 鈥渨e cannot allow money or budget to be an issue when it comes to saving lives,鈥� according to media reports.
Aughinbaugh, the mother of two daughters at Tanglewood, ages 10 and 7, said parents at the elementary school began talking about the potential threat to their children and decided to take action.
The parents鈥� initial intention, Aughinbaugh said, was to protect their children in Tanglewood, but 鈥渢hen as we got together and spent more time talking, we realized it鈥檚 not just our children, we want to protect every elementary child鈥� in Fort Worth and beyond 鈥� leading to the creation of the nonprofit group.
鈥淲e just saw a security gap in our elementary schools,鈥� said Spurgeon. 鈥淭here was no security presence there. So we thought, you know what, we鈥檙e going to take this upon ourselves as concerned parents, and we鈥檙e going to start a nonprofit 鈥� that we can spread to every elementary school in Texas.鈥�
鈥楾hey see them in the hallways鈥�
The next step was taking their idea to the Fort Worth Police Department, which introduced Carter, a public relations officer who has 16 years with the department and specializes in community relations. After being approached by Spurgeon, Carter recalled, he then reached out to a core of 鈥渟ix or seven鈥� other officers to get their mission started.
They work off-duty hours and are paid an undisclosed amount through donations from the parents and other nonprofit sources, and are present from the time classes start at 7:30 a.m. until they end at 3:30 p.m.
鈥淥ur model utilizes the cream of the crop, the best officers who are already out there, 鈥� Aughinbaugh said. 鈥淭hey know how to speak to children.鈥�
A fundamental goal is to always show a police presence, such as stationing themselves out front or walking the halls with the school monitor, Carter said.
While 鈥渙ne of the main goals is safety and security,鈥� Carter said, the officers strive 鈥渢o build relationships with the kids and make them where they鈥檙e not afraid of police officers when they see them. It鈥檚 the building of relationships, making them feel comfortable.鈥�
Fort Worth council member Michael Crain, whose district includes Tanglewood, echoed the assessment.
In addition to enhancing children鈥檚 safety, Crain said, 鈥渢he byproduct鈥s at an early age these kids are getting a positive interaction with police officers. They鈥檙e out on the courts playing games with them at recess. They see them in the hallways.鈥�
鈥榃e鈥檝e had other schools reach out to us鈥�
The undertaking, say the group leaders, is drawing increasing attention in Tarrant County and Austin as legislative leaders such as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the presiding officer of the Senate, and House Speaker Dan Phelan push school safety as a dominant issue of the 140-day session.
One advocate is Rep. Craig Goldman, whose Fort Worth district includes Tanglewood.
Goldman said he will help his constituents arrange key meetings, possibly with Burrows and others, when they arrive in Austin to begin talks on April 3.
鈥淚t鈥檚 wonderful,鈥� Goldman, who chairs the House Republican Caucus, said of the nonprofit group of parents.
In addition to Spurgeon and her husband, Eric, the group鈥檚 vice president, and Aughinbaugh, the other board members are Keeton Monahan, an attorney with three children, and Peter Dean, a sales director at an acoustics and drywall company and the father of two children.
The group plans to take the concept to as many schools as possible, including those facing funding challenges, said the group leaders.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had other schools reach out to us,鈥� said Spurgeon. 鈥淲hat we鈥檙e trying to do is tailor it to other schools and basically add chapters.鈥�