Southlake鈥檚 Carroll ISD is considering a school security program next year that would allow certain employees to carry a firearm on campuses as they grapple with meeting the state鈥檚 requirement to equip schools with armed officers.
Trustees at Monday鈥檚 board meeting discussed how a school marshal program would help bring armed employees to school campuses.
After Texas鈥� deadliest school shooting in Uvalde, state lawmakers required school districts to supply schools with armed officers and trained staff to provide students with mental health resources. And many school districts are looking for ways to meet that requirement.
The Southlake Department of Public Safety has school resource officers assigned to Carroll ISD schools.
But Superintendent Jeremy Glenn said that since September, the district did not meet the state obligation 10 times, or 1% of the time.
鈥淚t鈥檚 reasonable,鈥� Glenn said. 鈥淧olice officers get sick, they take personal days, they have occasional absences just like everybody else.鈥�
He said that means marshals are an option for when these instances occur.
鈥淯ltimately, Carroll ISD is still required under law to have an armed officer on each campus every day for the duration of time students are on that campus.鈥�
A school marshal鈥檚 purpose is to prevent serious harm or death on school premises and can make arrests. They act only as defined by the written regulations adopted by its school board.
But some parents at the meeting, like Elisha Rurka, raised concerns about who could be hired as a marshal on campuses and the costs that come with it.
鈥淓ven talking about starting up an additional program that would definitely have costs associated with it seems like not something we should be doing right now,鈥� Rurka said, 鈥渨hen we鈥檙e talking about ... closing campuses and we can鈥檛 fund [the special education] program.鈥�
Carroll ISD principals would oversee marshals on a campus level and the superintendent would oversee them on a district level.
Hired marshals must be school district employees and have a valid concealed handgun license, according to a FAQ posted by the district. Those selected would undergo psychological and physical evaluations throughout their service.
They must become a certified marshal by the state and need to be approved by the district鈥檚 Board of Trustees.
At the board meeting, trustees raised the possibility of a broader pool to include hiring retired law enforcement or military.
If this school marshal program is passed, up to 10 employees will be required to carry a 9mm pistol loaded with approved ammunition provided by the district. The district would also be responsible for buying equipment like uniforms, firearms, and ammunition and the make and model of the firearm must be on the approved list provided by the Southlake police.
they were aware of the district鈥檚 proposed marshal program.
鈥淭he City of Southlake and the Southlake Police Department are committed to providing our schools with the highest levels of safety and security 鈥� and have made no reductions or modifications to the Department鈥檚 School Resource Officer (SRO) program,鈥� the post read.
Trustee Alex Sexton said the district hopes to improve the school resource officer program 鈥� and exhaust all other options before considering the marshal program.
鈥淭his is all about planning for things we don鈥檛 want to think about,鈥� Sexton said. 鈥淏ut we have to do it. That鈥檚 how we protect our students and our teachers and our staff.鈥�
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