SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES DISTRICT POLICE FORCE, IN HOUSE BUS SYSTEM
The Brenham School District will soon have a new police force and a new in house bus transportation system thanks to the School Board. At a lengthy meeting at noon Monday, the School Board voted in favor of both items. The board heard from Clay Gillentine, the Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services about moving the transportation services in house. He said that the current contact with Durham School Transportation ends at the end of July. He said that currently, the school system pays Durham Transportation 2.7 million this year and next year will pay Durham 3.7 million. He said the school district could do a lease to buy of the 42 school buses involved and offer the drivers a pay increase to $22 to $25 per hour, and still come out for less than is costs to pay Durham for the service. That would include supervisory staff and maintenance. Trustee Tommie Sullivan, who was a bus driver when the School District went to a private company in the late 1980’s, said the School Board voted because of the headaches involved. Trustee Susan Jenkins asked about liability insurance. Clay Gillentine replied that it is not included in the numbers, but it will have a minimal difference. The School District currently only owns 7 buses that Durham operates. The board voted unanimously in favor of the item.
The board also voted in favor of the establishment of a school district police department. Trustee Kelvin Raven took himself out of the discussion and voting because he is currently an officer with the Brenham Police Department. Jay Huffty, the Director of Safety and Security for the district, said currently the ECLC and the Elementary Schools have an SRO less than 50 percent of the time. He said that other than the $300,000 startup costs, the district could cover the Elementary Schools and ECLC 100 percent of the time for the amount in the budget. He said he started getting approvals last month for the department and estimated it will be ready to go by the start of the school year. Another reason to do this now is HB 3 and the current legislative session. HB 3 requires an armed individual be on each campus. Superintendent Dr. Tylor Chaplin said it is too early in the legislative session to tell what will pass, but he felt HB 3 will pass in some form. Trustee Tommie Sullivan question whether the board is going too far and will have trouble taking care of teachers next fall. Trustee Susan Jenkins said that while she was not personally opposed to the formation, she felt that the school board needed more information on the subject. The board voted 3 to 2 in favor of establishing a district police force, with Jared Krenek, Dr. Michael Altman, and Natalie Lange in favor and Tommie Sullivan and Susan Jenkins voting against.