Klein ISD bumps up starting police officer salary to $60K

The Klein ISD board of trustees voted unanimously to increase the starting salary for officers with the KISD Police Department from $50,800 to $60,000 during the board's regular meeting Oct. 3.

According to KISD Police Chief Marlon Runnels, the roughly 18% compensation increase aims to help KISD remain competitive among neighboring law enforcement agencies.

"Just like teachers, police are in very, very high demand, so our school board [and] our superintendent really wanted to ensure that we remain a destination for law enforcement and so that we can retain our top talent here in Klein ISD," Runnels told Community Impact following the board meeting. "With the current state of the market, we wanted to ensure that we remain competitive and that we retain the talent that we have in place."

The pay increase comes as investing in campus safety remains a top priority for KISD officials, Runnels said. During the Oct. 3 board meeting, KISD officials presented an update on the district's 2022 bond outlining several security enhancements that are already underway. These projects include the installation of safety vestibules at Klein Collins and Klein Oak high schools as well as at Doerre, Hildebrandt, Kleb, Klein, Krimmel, Schindewolf, Strack, Ulrich and Wunderlich intermediate schools.

Each of the district's five high schools will also be upgrading to Aiphone doorbells at front entrances, according to August Wunderlich, associate superintendent of facilities and school services for KISD.

"Because of your commitment to our students' and staff's safety, these projects earmarked for safety and security have been moved to the front of the bond 2022 program," said Dayna Hernandez, associate superintendent of communications and public relations, during the presentation.

Runnels said the district is now in the process of making internal adjustments, and the compensation change should go into effect Oct. 10.

"This decision is one that we're very grateful for, and I think our officers are going to be very, very happy about this," Runnels said. "Our school board consistently supports safety and security, and this is one additional avenue to support that."

Runnels noted the KISD Police Department is hiring, and those interested can learn more about available positions by clicking here.

"We are actively working to fill the vacancies that we have, but this is law enforcement, so the hiring process is very extensive, so it's not a quick process," Runnels said. "But this new minimum starting salary is definitely going to help with that."