With the state’s new law taking effect soon, Mesquite Independent School District has made significant steps to implement armed security within its schools.
During a board of trustees meeting this week, it was decided a two-year contract with L&P Global Security would be approved, adding an armed guard at each of the district’s 34 elementary schools.
Previously, Mesquite ISD high schools and middle schools were the only ones with armed security.
“Currently, we have school resource officers from Balch Springs and Mesquite Police Department that serve our secondary schools,” explained Taylor Morris, an administrator with Mesquite ISD, according to Fox 4 KDFW.
Wylie, Allen, and McKinney all have contracts with L&P Global Security currently.
The Dallas-based firm has been in high demand as North Texas districts scramble to comply with House Bill 3 requiring “that at least one armed security officer is present during regular school hours at each district campus” by September 1, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
Some districts, like Dallas ISD, have said it is unlikely they will be in compliance by the time the law goes into effect.
“We are not going to have 167 additional officers available at every single one of our schools on September 1,” Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said, according to the Dallas Observer. “The feasibility of that is not possible.”
“We will begin by deploying many of our officers who are in supervisory roles, which means they’re going to take on some additional responsibilities,” she added.
Funding is a major issue cited by several districts, including Mesquite ISD. The district’s enlisting of L&P Global Security’s services will cost approximately $2 million. New funding provisions from the state to help pay for the security measures will cover $750,000.
“To be honest, the burden that it adds is just the financial burden. We’re already financially strapped,” explained Morris.
At the same time, Morris suggested that the measure will bring parents and staff some peace of mind by boosting school security.
“If a bad guy shows up on our campus, then they’re there to try to intervene while we wait on law enforcement,” Morris said.
A Mesquite ISD high school student was allegedly caught trying to bring a handgun onto school premises on the first day of the new school term, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
The district had rolled out its clear backpack policy barring students grades K to 12 from carrying non-transparent bags.
While the effectiveness of the measure — also enacted at Dallas and Duncanville ISDs — has been questioned compared to high-tech options like AI-assisted scanners, officials have pointed to it as just one of many protocols in place.
