There won’t be a meeting of the minds here on School Resource Officers, but there is a path forward – Gladewater’s school district and its police department are committed to that.
The safety of Gladewater ISD students, staff and schools is paramount. After months of negotiations, GISD and Gladewater PD didn’t come to a final agreement for SROs to continue carrying that responsibility, but the mission stays the same.
Beginning Nov. 3, Paladin Solutions will provide daily armed security on-campus. Consequently, the three remaining SROs on GPD’s roster will be terminated as the current, interim agreement expires Nov. 1.
According to a GISD release last week, “The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority. After careful consideration and consultation with the GISD Board of Trustees, the district determined that the existing arrangement was not consistently meeting our security expectations for campus coverage, patrols, and presence during the school day,” the district announced Oct. 21. “Although we appreciate GPD’s efforts and the progress discussed in recent meetings, these concerns remained unresolved. GISD has chosen a provider that can commit to the consistent, proactive security our students and staff deserve.”
It’s the school’s choice, Gladewater City Manager Charlie Smith said. It changes the police department’s day-to-day relationship with the district, its personnel and students, but the substantial work is the same. GISD’s a top priority for the city.
According to GPD Chief Kyle Ready, “The Gladewater Police Department’s responsibility is to uphold the laws of the State of Texas and protect the City of Gladewater from severe municipal liability,” he said. “We cannot ignore clear statutory boundaries, and it is deeply regrettable that three dedicated officers who served Gladewater ISD faithfully are losing their livelihoods because our department refused to violate state law.
“While our formal contract with the District ends on November 1, our duty to protect the children and staff of Gladewater ISD will never end. GPD patrol units will continue to provide rapid emergency response and proactive patrol presence around all school zones and campuses.”
According to Gladewater ISD Superintendent Rae Ann Patty, Paladin Solutions has a solid base of personnel with military experience and other qualifications.
“All of them work very well with law enforcement as well as school district entities. They understand (Texas Commission on Law Enforcement) requirements very well,” she said, in addition to Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT). “They train a lot of law enforcement officers and departments.”
They’ll be interacting and collaborating with Gladewater PD personnel on a regular basis, she added.
“We will continue our partnership with Gladewater PD for investigations, emergency situations and extracurricular security,” Patty said. “When we have multiple agencies in the district for various reasons, (GPD) will be the first ones who will be here and take incident command.”
The intent is for a consistent pool of Paladin personnel to secure GISD’s campuses and maintain a positive, safe environment for students and staff.
Two Paladin employees have been rotating through the middle school role recently: “Both of them have already in the month of October formed great relationships with kids,” Patty said. “They’ve formed great relationships with staff.” They’re turned trained eyes to cars, to visitors, keeping watch diligently at GMS. “There’s been a lot that’s been done there in the month of October, and I anticipate it will be the same at the other campuses once we get them on board and they’re here. It should remain consistent.”
GPD Lt. Freddy Fitzgerald, who oversaw the SRO program, laments the loss of the three SROs along with the regular opportunity for the department to develop positive interactions between students and law enforcement.
“From our guys’ point of view, they’re going to miss that relationship they had with the kids,” he said. For years, the mentoring has been a big part of the overall dynamic. “You get to know them and you see them grow up and graduate eventually,” and it’s been a good channel to interact with parents as well.
The police department cannot absorb the three officers, Ready confirmed Monday.
On the district’s side, costs will likely be consistent, Patty said: she doesn’t anticipate any significant savings or additional expenditures moving to the private security firm.
An additional part of the changeover is the hiring of Michael Webber as Coordinator of Safety and Security.
With his recent training as a Guardian at GISD, Webber will continue to build his certifications while collaborating with Paladin, and GPD, on the district’s Emergency Operation Plans, security procedures, its Guardians plus necessary documentation through Texas Education Agency’s Sentinel software.
Patty thanked Gladewater Mayor Brandy Flanagan-Shipp, the city council members and Ready for all their efforts throughout the process, before and after last week’s announcement, “Everything they’ve done to help make this transition as seamless as possible.”
From Gladewater Police Chief Kyle Ready:
Today, Gladewater ISD notified the City of Gladewater that it will allow the current School Resource Officer (SRO) agreement with the Gladewater Police Department (GPD) to expire on November 1, 2026, without renewal. Because the City cannot legally deploy officers as dedicated campus SROs after a contract and its funding expire, GPD’s on-campus SRO operations will conclude on November 1, 2026, and officers will not be assigned to campuses during the week of November 3–6 without an active agreement.
Furthermore, because these positions are funded by Gladewater ISD through the Interlocal Agreement, the District’s decision has a direct and immediate human cost. GPD had already held the fourth SRO position—vacated by Sgt. Willeford—open due to the lack of a finalized MOU. With the District’s decision to end the agreement on November 1 with less than two weeks’ notice, the funding for the remaining three SRO positions ceases, leaving three dedicated Gladewater police officers unemployed.
Because statements have been circulated regarding the nature of our negotiations, the citizens, parents, and affected officers of Gladewater deserve the full facts regarding why the Gladewater Police Department could not legally sign the contract demanded by the District.
This disagreement was never about a lack of willingness by Gladewater police officers to protect students outdoors or during vulnerable times of the day. Our SROs have always patrolled playgrounds, perimeters, and hallways proactively. Rather, the disagreement centered on the District’s demand for civilian control over municipal police officers and the assignment of duties prohibited by Texas law:
Civilian Control of Police Officers: Gladewater SROs are sworn municipal peace officers employed by the City, not a private security force or an internal school district department. Under the Texas Local Government Code, the Chief of Police holds exclusive command over municipal officers. GPD could not legally allow the Superintendent to exercise direct supervisory authority or issue weekly task lists to police officers.
Routine Administrative Tasks vs. Tactical Security: Texas Education Code § 37.081(d-2) explicitly forbids schools from assigning SROs to routine administrative tasks. There is a major operational difference between an officer conducting roving, proactive security checks around a playground and an officer being assigned by a school administrator to stand post as a daily recess monitor or traffic guard. Tying a sworn officer to a routine administrative schedule violates state law and compromises the security of the rest of the campus.
Mandatory Arrest and Evidence Procedures: Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 2.13, when a peace officer makes an arrest or collects criminal evidence on campus, they are required by state law to transport the suspect, book evidence, and file official reports. GPD agreed to a strict notification protocol so the school could activate its internal Guardian team whenever an officer had to leave campus for a police matter, but we cannot legally forbid an officer from leaving campus to process an arrest.
The Gladewater Police Department’s responsibility is to uphold the laws of the State of Texas and protect the City of Gladewater from severe municipal liability. We cannot ignore clear statutory boundaries, and it is deeply regrettable that three dedicated officers who served Gladewater ISD faithfully are losing their livelihoods because our department refused to violate state law.
While our formal contract with the District ends on November 1, our duty to protect the children and staff of Gladewater ISD will never end. GPD patrol units will continue to provide rapid emergency response and proactive patrol presence around all school zones and campuses.