MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Waco ISD Chief of Police Craig Goodman highlights the urgent need for increased funding to ensure student safety and adequately support the district's law enforcement amid rising costs and staffing challenges.
- Waco ISD Police's budget is projected to rise to nearly $3.5 million due to increasing operational costs and state mandates for having armed officers on every campus, yet current funding does not meet these escalating demands.
- With about 30 officers currently employed and three open positions, Chief Goodman notes the difficulty in retaining talent due to salaries that range from $50,000 to $57,000, which he would like to raise to $60,000 to $70,000 to remain competitive and prevent staff turnover.
- The financial strain caused by staffing shortages and the need to employ outside officers (approximately $834,000 last year) diverts funds from the district's general budget, ultimately compromising resources available for educational needs and student services.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“The bottom line is, we don’t have the funding,” Waco ISD Chief of Police Craig Goodman said.
In the 2022-2023 school year, Waco Police had a budget of a little more than 2 million dollars.
But with inflation and state mandates requiring an armed officer on every campus, Waco ISD PD is expected to spend nearly 3.5 million dollars this school year.
“We’re underfunded for these mandates, and having an officer in every school being competitive with our salaries, keeping that talent here where they don’t want to go elsewhere,” Chief Goodman said.
Currently, public school districts in Texas are getting a little more than $6,000 per student.
That covers students’ needs, like transportation, teacher salaries, and classroom materials.
Waco ISD Police employs around 30 officers.
Currently, there are three openings with salaries ranging from $50,000 to $57,000.
However, Chief Craig Goodman said he would like to offer between $60,000 and $70,000 to be competitive with other agencies.
“We’re doing pretty good, but right now, I do have a handful of people that are considering leaving, and the reason is the pay— they’re able to go elsewhere to make a higher annual salary,” Chief Goodman said.
How does the current basic allotment affect student safety and education?
Chief Goodman says that when there’s a vacancy, someone has to fill it, whether it’s an investigator or an officer.
Last school year, the district police spent approximately $834,000 employing outside officers.
“That’s a lot of money, right? That’s a lot of funding, and that takes away from our general funding that goes to other educational needs,” Chief Goodman said.
That's money coming out of our students’ classrooms.
“We are having to find a way to cover those costs to be able to provide services to students, and students should not be shortchanged in order for us to be able to do that,” said Chief Goodman.
Senate Bill 260 would increase school safety funding. Doubling the amount that districts would receive for districts and students. A bill Chief Goodman says he’s excited about.
