Bryan ISD is adding roughly $1.8 million in security services for the 2026-27 school year, while its new virtual academy has received more than 230 applications ahead of its launch.
Trustees unanimously approved contracts with a private security company and the city of Bryan for armed security guards and school resource officers during its Aug. 10 meeting.
What's new?
The board unanimously approved a $697,032 contract with Jet Security to provide armed security guards for the 2026-27 school year.
Deputy Supt. Brian Merrell said the district solicited proposals from more than 220 vendors and received 14 responses.
Jet Security currently works with several school districts, including Dallas, Houston and Fort Worth ISDs, Merrell said.
The contract includes dedicated training days and funding for necessary training materials.
Merrell said the approval adds a private security component to the district’s existing school safety efforts, which also include school resource officers from the Bryan Police Department.
A closer look
The board also unanimously approved a $1.11 million interlocal agreement with the city of Bryan for 10 school resource officers during the 2026-27 school year.
In addition to their regular campus assignments, Bryan PD officers provide security at school events, including Friday night football games and other large district gatherings.
The district will pay 75% of the cost, while the city will cover the remaining 25%.
The SRO staffing plan includes:
- One sergeant overseeing the SRO division
- Two officers at Bryan High School
- Two officers at Rudder High School
- One officer at Davila Elementary School
- One officer at Stephen F. Austin Middle School
- One officer at Mary Catherine Harris School and the district’s Disciplinary Alternative Education Program
- One rover assigned to Jane Long and Rayburn Intermediate schools
The cost of the SRO agreement has increased after the Bryan Police Department transferred more of the responsibility for the program to the district, said Merrell and Asst. Dir. of Safety and Security Rich Himmell.
Also on the agenda
Associate Superintendent of Teaching & Learning Dr. Barbara Ybarra reported more than 230 students have applied to the Bryan ISD Virtual Academy, the district’s new flexible learning option for students in grades 3-12.
Of those applicants, more than 130 have received acceptance letters, with some additional applications still under consideration.
As for rejected applications, Ybarra said more than 50 applicants were not enrolled in Bryan ISD at the time of applying and more than 25 applicants were not residents of the district.
Ybarra said the district has allowed some students who were initially considered on the cusp of meeting the program’s requirements to enroll with additional support and oversight.
The goal, she said, is to make sure students have the resources and support they need throughout the school year, not just when they begin classes.
The district held an orientation for students and families before the start of school, which garnered positive feedback.
“I've run into several parents who attended the orientation and they said it was incredibly organized and they feel more than prepared,” Superintendent Ginger Carrabine said.
Bryan ISD is still accepting applications for its Virtual Academy through Aug. 31.
Dr. Ybarra said another update on the virtual academy will be provided at the next school board meeting, after class has had several days in session.
Related highlights
The district also voted Aug. 10 to call a voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE, that could generate about $5.5 million annually for Bryan ISD. The election is set for Nov. 3 and would affect the district’s maintenance and operations tax rate, while the separate debt-service tax rate used to pay for last year’s $397 million bond program would remain unchanged.
