AUSTIN, Texas — Nine new officers were pinned with a badge and welcomed into Eanes Independent School District's first police force on Wednesday.
Each officer will be assigned to a campus within the district and serve as an additional resource to help protect students and staff.
During the pinning ceremony, each officer was pinned and given a certificate while they were introduced and given their badge by a loved one. Austin Interim Police Chief Robin Henderson served as a special guest speaker, noting it was a historic day for the district.
The district's police department was formed in compliance with House Bill 3, which requires Texas schools to have an armed employee on each campus. Eanes ISD's Board of Trustees approved to create its police force in June 2023. According to Superintendent Dr. Jeff Arnett, it cost about $1.5 million to make it happen, with a small percentage coming from the state.
Under the law, school districts get $15,000 per campus and $10 per student. Other school districts across Central Texas have struggled to meet the requirement due to difficulties in finding the extra funding and needed personnel.
"We had to find the room within our funding so that we could afford these officers to make sure that we had the best trained, best caliber staff on each of our campuses," Arnett said.
According to Eanes ISD's new police chief, Matt Greer, the district had plans to increase law enforcement presence in some fashion, so following the requirement, Greer said the district decided to introduce officers. Those introduced during Wednesday's ceremony were noted to have a police background.
However, he said the decision in whom to choose for the roles was carefully crafted.
"It takes a special person to to be around kids and be a role model and a mentor for kids all day long," Greer said. "We hope that they never have to use some of the training that they've gotten, but they are able to respond if they need to."
The officers will respond to emergency response incidents on campus, provide safety education and training to students, and enforce district policies and regulations.
"It's one more step in making sure that we're protecting the learning environment so that our students can learn and our teachers can teach every day," Arnett said.
Each officer has already been assigned a school and is expected to hit the ground running soon.