Thursday, April 25, 2024
By Jeff Osborne
Senior writer & editor
Considering the Gatesville Police Department has scrambled in recent months to fill vacant positions, an announcement that it could be losing up to five officers to the newly formed Gatesville Independent School District Police might seem devastating at first glance.
However, a closer look into the situation reveals that the officers who may be departing GPD were primarily working as school resource officers already, so the impact won't be the same as if the department were losing a number of patrol officers or investigators.
Gatesville City Manager Bill Parry recently briefed the Gatesville City Council on what the formation of the new school district police force will mean for the city.
"This is not something that was terribly unexpected," Parry said, adding that GISD Superintendent Barrett Pollard had informed GPC Chief Nathan Gohlke of the possibility months ago before officially informing the city of the school board's decision.
The school had targeted Aug. 1 as the date to have its own police force operational but is working with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) to finalize the process.
"The bottom line is this is about control," Parry said. He added that GISD officials had wanted to make the decisions related to work hours and schedules of school resource officers, but as long as they were city employees, those SROs had to follow city policy regarding overtime or comp time.
One concern that had been voiced to TCOLE in the school district's decision to create its own police force was related to a shortage of staffing within the city police department. A letter sent to TCOLE expressed a concern that the city might remove SROs from schools in order to have them patrol the city.
"We have never pulled an SRO off campus to work patrol," Parry said. "GISD wants to have sole authority on SROs – we understand that.
Regarding the finances needed to pay the SROs, Parry said, "We have eaten the cost of the SROs during the summer months."
Parry said he has talked with TCOLE representatives "to find out where the process is, and they are doing their best to get (GISD's police department) operating within 30 days" (which would likely comply with GISD's Aug. 1 timeframe).
As for the city's stance on whether it approves or disapproves of GISD's decision: "We don't get the opportunity to like or dislike it," Parry said. "The question is do we budget for the SROs (in case GISD misses its deadline) or not."
Councilwoman Barbara Burrow said with the police department's "staffing shortages, it seems like an uphill battle."
Parry said Chief Gohlke is "exceedingly cautious about having certified officers who don't report (to GPD).”
One area that the school district's decision could actually help the city is in the budget process.
"This frees up about $100,000 in the general fund," related to SRO expenditures, Parry said.
Asked by Burrow how the departure of SROs from the city's police would affect staffing, Parry said, "it's a net zero. It really does not impact (the department's other responsibilities)."
