Single-role guardians wanted

The Elgin Independent School District is looking to establish a single-role guardian program to satisfy the requirements of House Bill 3.

Heading into the second year of state-mandated, armed school security officers, Executive Director of Safety and Risk Management Bridgette Cornelius asked the council to approve two items during the last school board meeting.

The Board agreed to claim a “good cause exception” for the 2024-25 school year again, and approved the lone protector position and contracting of security companies instead of dual-role guardians.

“In my experience, and in talking with several of the other school districts who have employed single-role versus dual-role, a lot of people go with single role, and I agree,” said Cornelius.

The directive requires that at least one armed resource officer is present during regular school hours at each campus.

A single-role officer is an individual hired strictly to carry on campus, their sole responsibility is the safety of Elgin’s children. The dual-role option would see a teacher or other staff member take up the responsibility after establishing credentials.

“I don’t want to have some of our teachers, or anyone else on campus, compromise their position. If they’re focused on security, we want them to focus on security,” added the director.

The creation of this position is in response to filing for a “good cause exception,” as otherwise noncompliance with the bill relates to a lack of funding or qualified personnel. The exception was also claimed for the current school year, and Elgin ISD developed and adopted an alternative standard of hiring for the position.

The district secured seven armed officers through Texas Public Safety and Investigation in October 2023.

“We’ve met the requirements of the state mandate as a district,” said Cornelius.

Cornelius stated she will begin working with the human capital department, researching pay grades and posting for guardians this month. She is hoping to present a list of potential candidates to the board for approval prior to August.

The district had some difficulty filling positions for the 2023-24 school year, and will contract a with a level three security company again if unable to meet the required number of guardians.

“It’s very important to us to find the right person and not settle,” added Cornelius.