HCSO Warns Latexo ISD Admin. Over Police Procedures 

By Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

LATEXO –   A special meeting called by Latexo Independent School District (LISD) board of trustees was called Monday, May 19 to hear concerns from county law enforcement over misunderstandings LISD administration appeared to have about reporting and handling incidents at the schools. The meeting was requested by Houston County Sheriff Zak Benge after LISD’s school police department was the only district left without the official approval of county officials. 

The Messenger noted Latexo ISD’s absence from the other county schools during a county commissioners meeting in April. Each school district’s police department must operate under a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU), which stipulates how the local police force works with Houston County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) and the responsibilities of each office to the other. Sources at the time mentioned there were some issues to be discussed, but a meeting with Latexo’s board and administration should quickly solve the issue. 

Several weeks passed without an invitation from the school board to HCSO, leading to the hastily called special meeting, out of the usual time and place for LISD meetings. Houston County Sheriff Zak Benge and Chief Deputy Ryan Martin were in attendance, but their portion of the agenda was set for executive session, without public scrutiny. 

Contacted shortly after the meeting, Benge confirmed the MOU seemed to have been accepted and understood and was set for commissioner approval at the Tuesday, May 27 meeting. Benge confirmed Latexo had been the last school to be approved for their school police force and that he had not felt the need to meet with any other school districts during the course of approvals for the MOU’s. 

Benge confirmed the goal and work of his sheriff’s office remains the same, whether inside the schools, or anywhere else in Houston County. 

“It was nice to sit down with the school board and talk face-to-face and any rumors and innuendos or any information that was not completely true or incorrect, that they can tell us what they’ve heard and we’re able to explain to them what we feel we should be doing and how,” Benge said. “There were no changes to the MOU, but I just felt it was best for us to have a face-to-face discussion with them before we sign and to make sure there are no misunderstandings.”

These MOUs must be signed for school police departments to operate under state law, something Benge said included shared communications, resources, and helping kids get to know how local law enforcement is there to help. 

“The officers serve a very vital purpose inside the schools. They build a great relationship with students from a young age until they graduate,” Benge said. “That way, being around police is not something maybe new to them as a young adult.”

Benge admitted the reasons for his concern were serious, and prompted him to insist on a meeting before any MOU would be signed, in order to assure both sides understood their role in the arrangement — a role the sheriff’s office is bound to by law. 

“In the first five months we’ve been in office, we’ve had some issues at the school where we had to get involved,” Benge explained. “We had a couple of different issues with people bringing firearms to the gym. You have the issue of a sexual assault being made after hours on a holiday weekend. Of course, our office took that call and moved forward with the investigation. There were some questions about what some people in the administration thought we could do. It was just best to make sure we’re all on the same page.”

After taking note of the initial delay in approving the MOU, The Messenger reached out to LISD Superintendent Michael Woodard, who did not return requests for comment. 

Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]