HARLINGEN — For nearly 20 years, city and school officials have been signing off on an annual agreement which assigns Harlingen police officers to the district to help provide security.
Since 2019, the police department has been assigning four full-time officers and five off-duty officers to work security across the district’s 31 campuses, Police Chief Michael Kester said.
But this year, negotiations stalled in the wake of the May 24 Uvalde massacre, the horrific tragedy leading parents across the country to call for heightened school security.
Nearly two months after entering into talks, Harlingen city and school officials are now negotiating an agreement much like their previous pact, Mayor Norma Sepulveda said.
“The contract is the same as in the past, with the language the city strongly suggests they start a police department, but it’s not conditioned upon,” she said.
As bargaining continues, the parties have extended their previous security agreement into the new school year.
“HPD is still there,” Sepulveda said. “We still have our obligation to the kids.”
Parties swaping proposals
As negotiations opened, residents’ demands for heightened security led school leaders to call on city officials for more officers.
Amid talks, district officials requested the city assign its five off-duty officers to work full-time on school campuses, Sepulveda said.
“That’s more than I can do,” Police Chief Michael Kester said. “That would mean I take them off (patrol) and keep depleting the city of staffing.”
In response, city officials proposed the school district “take steps” to start a police department.
“The school district didn’t want the city involved in decisions of security, so we took that language out,” Sepulveda said of the proposed agreement.
As talks continued, school leaders requested the city allow its off-duty officers to work school security in exchange for overtime pay, Brianna Vela Garcia, the district’s spokeswoman, said.
In response, city officials rejected the proposal, warning over-time hours would exhaust officers, Assistant City Manager Josh Ramirez said.
Closer to finalizing agreement
Last week, city commissioners stopped short of finalizing a new agreement after a closed-session meeting.
“We’re still waiting for the school district,” Sepulveda said. “I feel we’re very close to having that signed.”
Meanwhile, Sepulveda believes the district should consider starting a police department.
“I still think the school district needs to take steps to begin a police department,” she said. “There have been a lot of active-shooter threats and lock-downs.”
District bolstering security
As negotiations stalled, district officials turned to other law enforcement agencies for help.
During the summer, they entered into agreements with Cameron County along with the cities of Primera and Combes, which are assigning 12 to 17 off-duty sheriff’s deputies, deputy constables and police officers to work school security in exchange for the district’s overtime pay, Vela Garcia said.
Meanwhile, Danny Castillo, a former Harlingen police chief and city commissioner serving as the district’s director of emergency management and school safety, is working with 42 security personnel, she said.
As part of those agreements, the district can request off-duty officers and deputies “on an as-needed basis,” Castillo said.
“On any given day, we have 58 to 66 law enforcement and security officers present on our campuses,” Vela Garcia said. “We are grateful for our relationships with all entities to keep our community safe.”
This school year, district officials are also operating a “surveillance room,” monitoring hundreds of surveillance cameras across 31 campuses, she said.
