Marble Falls officer assigned to each MFISD campus
Highland Lakes Elementary School will be protected by an officer from the Marble Falls Police Department following a contract amendment unanimously approved by the Marble Falls ISD Board of Trustees on July 15. File photo
The Marble Falls Independent School District will now have an officer from the Marble Falls Police Department on each of its campuses in 2024-25 with a contract amendment between the district and city to provide one at Highland Lakes Elementary in Granite Shoals.
HLES was previously patrolled by an officer from the Granite Shoals Police Department.
“We still will have Granite Shoals PD available should we need support,” MFISD Superintendent Dr. Jeff Gasaway told the Board of Trustees at its July meeting.
The MFPD officer at the Granite Shoals campus might be asked to return to Marble Falls in special circumstances.
“The one at Highland Lakes (Elementary) will be hanging at Highland Lakes for as long as possible, but in the event that there’s a critical emergency, we would have the ability to shift him into town,” Gasaway said.
Per the agreement, MFISD will be required to reimburse the Marble Falls department for one vehicle for its fleet.
“It will be a one-time fee for that vehicle,” Assistant Superintendent of Administration Stan Whittle told the board.
No dollar amounts for staffing the HLES officer or the vehicle reimbursement were provided in the unanimously approved amendment.
“(The city) will send us a bill,” Gasaway said.
MFISD is committed to hiring a school resource officer for the Highland Lakes Elementary post soon as the new school year is only a few weeks away with the first day of class on Aug. 14.
“We want everyone ready to go by day one of instruction,” Gasaway said. “We want to make sure that everyone is comfortable with them and knows their purpose.”
MFISD Board of Trustees President Kevin Naumann thanked the police department for its outstanding work protecting campuses last year.
“From what has happened so far, it’s been nothing but excellent,” he said.
Trustees Crystal Tubig and Alex Payson were absent from the meeting.