What you need to know
House Bill 3, which was approved in the legislative session earlier this year, requires school districts to have an armed guard on each campus throughout the day, according to the bill.
While the bill provided some new funding to help school districts meet those needs, PISD Superintendent Larry Berger said the district will still need an additional $3.5 million to satisfy the requirements.
The district's board of trustees voted at its Aug. 21 meeting to use an exemption in the law that allows them “an indefinite” amount of time to roll out a plan as the district is short on both money and staff, Berger said.
By the numbers
Pearland ISD has a partnership with the city of Pearland and pays $1.3 million to have school resource officers at the district’s high school and junior high campuses, Berger said at the meeting.
Meanwhile, state funding from HB 3 provides around $500,000 in total to PISD, which still leaves a funding gap the district would need to make up to have officers at each campus.
The hope is for funding to come from either the state or through grants, but at this point there isn’t an idea of where the money will come from or how long it may be until that money can be obtained, Berger said.
There is also a police officer shortage going on that the district will have to contend with, Berger said.
What else?
While district officials try to gather the needed resources to meet the bills’ requirements, the district will bring on a sergeant and four off-duty officers to rotate between campuses not currently covered.
The district’s board voted Aug. 21 to reconsider the plan a year from now to see if more time is still needed.
