Despite the additional officers, the PD would not impose a large budgetary impact, Norton said, adding that LTISD currently budgets over $600,000 for its contract with Travis County.
The initial one-time cost of developing the department is projected under $400,000 with a yearly price tag estimated at a little over half a million dollars, according to Norton. The majority of the development funding would include the cost of vehicles, guns, ammunition and badges, Norton said.
Bearing in mind the proposed increase in campus police presence, trustee Lauren White brought attention to nationwide disparities in disciplinary action.
“We’ve seen historically across the country and in Texas that more officers across the school sometimes means more students are referred to the criminal justice system, and there’s usually disparities in who that is,” White said. “How do we ensure that as the police force grows . that we’re able to make sure that doesn’t happen to our students?�
Charles E Page Obituary caledonianrecord.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from caledonianrecord.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Lake Travis school board voted unanimously Wednesday night to start the process of establishing a district police department.
The department, which would have five officers and a police chief, is projected to need $400,000 in start-up funds and have a $680,000 annual budget. The start-up money is mostly needed for vehicles and equipment and the annual budget will cover personnel costs such as salary, liability and insurance, according to Superintendent Paul Norton.
The district currently has three resource officers contracted from the Travis County sheriff’s office and spends about $500,000 a year on costs associated with policing, Norton said.
The first step will be to hire a police chief and to go through the process of certifying the program through the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. While the exact timeline is unclear in part because of the pandemic, Norton said that ideally the department will be in place for the next school year.