Grapeland ISD To Form Police Department
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
GRAPELAND – Grapeland Independent School District (GISD) board met Monday, Dec. 11 to honor outstanding students in each grade and voted to form its own police department. The move follows other area school districts forming police departments this year and after disagreements with the City of Grapeland over personnel issues.
The meeting began by honoring the GISD students of the month from each campus, along with several of the outstanding staff members. Elementary School Principal Cassie Satterwhite reported a student body of 313, with an overall attendance rate of nearly 96%. Junior High Principal Channin Spisak reported a total of 122 students and an attendance rate of 95%. High School Principal Aimee Johnson did not report attendance numbers for the school, this time, but noted the attendance rate was 96%.
Johnson noted the success of the school’s DAEP, or Disciplinary Alternative Education Program – essentially detention, but codified by Texas lawmakers. The program is designed for students who defy the student code of conduct or commit other serious offenses. Johnson said the program seems to be working, with students working to avoid getting into trouble, since they now know the program is not only real, but no fun. GISD Superintendent David Maass agreed, saying the program had a high of 11 students, but that number was now less than five which, according to Maass, was proof the program was working to deter bad behavior.
Maass reported the district was revamping the baseball and softball fields to make them less prone to flood and get the divots and trip-points out of the fields. GISD Athletic Director Jordan Wood said five dump-truck loads of sand were laid over the field, showing the shape it was in and how much leveling needed to be done. Maass noted the district will be watering the newly-seeded grass and it will be ready in plenty of time for the upcoming baseball and softball seasons.
The board voted to try and purchase a bus from Grapeland First Baptist Church for an unspecified amount of money. The bus is no longer needed by the church and has low mileage. The smaller bus would be more practical for many of the district events. Maass explained for some “away” sporting events, there are 11 students sent on a bus which was designed for 72. Board members agreed, saying there would be many events where a smaller bus would come in handy and it would cheaper to operate than the bigger busses which use more gas.
The district will seek new bids for a project to reroute traffic for pickups and drop-offs at the Elementary School. The bids could not be voted on since each company provided radically different proposals. Maass agreed to get one design idea for the companies to bid on and present them at the next meeting.
The board then debated the idea of creating a GISD Police Department. The board members expressed frustration with the City of Grapeland, as the two entities have not been able to agree on matters of personnel. GISD Security Officer Steven Ham was on hand to talk the board members through the process of opening it’s own police department, should they so decide.
Board members expressed their frustration with the city, who had rejected a candidate the school wanted to hire as their second officer to be stationed at the Elementary School.
Board member T.C. Howard said, “No matter whether we decide to stay as we are or form our own department, we have to find a way to work better with the city and the city police.”
Ham told the board they would need to make a memorandum of understanding with the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, designate the department’s jurisdiction and get all of the paperwork done with TCOLE, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
Maass reminded the board this process would take four or five months, but told them several county and city officials were not against the move and offered to help with the department. As The Messenger has reported, all other school districts in Houston County have established their own police forces. The move gives districts more flexibility in personnel matters, budgeting, department policies and jurisdiction areas. It has also increased the number of officers spread throughout the county to respond to any emergencies.
Since the board looked ready to make the move, GISD Board President Chance Huff read a resolution of the district’s intentions to form their own police department, giving Ham and Maass permission to get the process started. The vote was unanimous to approve.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
