Uvalde CISD police chief outlines training plan; district says DPS campus assignments will change next year
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Summary
New district police chief presented training, community-policing and mentoring plans; superintendent said DPS officers will no longer be permanently assigned to each campus next year and the district will rely on part-time officers and reservists to maintain campus coverage.
Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District’s interim police chief outlined a training-heavy plan and community engagement goals, and district leadership said state trooper (DPS) assignments to individual campuses will change next year.
Chief Puente described 124 hours of planned, grant-funded training, a mentoring program for students and junior mentors, and an emphasis on visibility and de-escalation. "Our commitment to the community, to district, it's to be inclusive, purposeful, and transparent, open to feedback. Our mission is to educate, not to incarcerate," he told trustees.
Superintendent Colas gave an operational update on the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) presence: "This will be the last year that DPS is officially assigned to each one of our campuses... Next year, there'll be a presence in the community, but they will not be assigned to our campuses," she said. To maintain coverage, the district plans to use part-time campus officers called reservists and other part-timers to fill days when full-time officers are off duty; reservists are described as unpaid, commissioned peace officers who volunteer roughly 24 hours per month.
The nut graf: the district is reshaping how it staffs school safety roles, relying more on flexible staffing and partnerships with local and state law enforcement while pursuing ongoing training for campus officers.
Trustees and presenters also discussed practical details: the high school typically has two assigned officers; the district is exploring reservists, part-time hires, and offering campus office space for DPS troopers who would be assigned to the region but not permanently stationed at a specific campus.
The material was presented as informational; trustees did not take separate formal action on staffing changes during the meeting but requested continued updates as plans proceed.
