HUTTO, Texas — To serve and protect is a calling for Officer Randy Wheeler, who has more than 20 years of experience working for police departments in Odessa and Hutto. But working with students is where he has found his niche.
"I felt at home at the school. I felt like it's a hidden gem of law enforcement," Wheeler said.
Wheeler is a school resource officer for Hutto ISD, reaping the rewards by helping those in the classrooms rather than on the streets.
"On the municipal level, you can't really build a relationship with someone. Typically, you're dealing with someone on their worst day," Wheeler said. "In the school setting, you get to interact with these kids day in and day out. So you get to see them on their bad days, you get to see them on their good days and you can help to usher them through their day if they're having a bad day."
But Hutto ISD Police Chief William Edwards said school districts across the state are struggling to recruit and employ police officers to comply with House Bill 3, which took effect in September. It requires every school in Texas to have an armed security guard.
"There's only so many police officers to go around," Edwards said.
Here's what Hutto ISD is doing: Campus safety officers who have been employed with the district for at least a year can apply to be accepted as a police cadet with the district. Once they have finished training, they can become a full-fledged police officer.
"They already have that personal commitment and that underlying desire to be here for the right reasons," Edwards said.
The program would pay the cadets and offer them benefits while they complete at least 960 hours of training.
It is a path Wheeler said is not normally taken, but he sees firsthand what it can do.
"Most people don't want to do it because they don't know how to interact with kids," Wheeler said. "I can kind of hold them to the fire, so to speak and say, 'Hey I hope you're still doing good, or I hope you continue to go down this path because it's only going to be good for you if you continue to do so.'"
The academy will start in April. Two police positions approved from House Bill 3 will be used to create two cadet positions. Learn more.