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Sheriff staffing and school safety divide Coryell County residents and commissioners
Summary
Discussion over two proposed new deputy positions focused on where they would be stationed, shift hours (reported 07:30–16:30), and whether school districts or cities should fund school-resource coverage. Supporters argued deputies are needed for broad rural safety; opponents pressed that ISDs should pay for security.
Residents and county officials clashed over a proposed request to fund two additional deputy positions in rural portions of Coryell County. The topic surfaced both during public forum comments and later during budget deliberations as citizens and the sheriff described operational needs and constraints.
Pat Doss and other public commenters representing local ISDs said school districts that have created their own police forces should bear their own security costs rather than rely on county-funded deputies. Doss asked why taxpayers from several independent school districts must contribute to deputies "housed in Oglesby and Ivey" and questioned reported daytime shift hours that he said would not cover evening crime.
Other speakers, including Miss Tibbett and Sheriff representatives, argued the deputies would provide more than school resource coverage: they would be based in remote areas, assist with traffic enforcement, SWAT support and emergency response where neighboring counties have long travel times. "It's not just about the kids," Miss Tibbett said. The sheriff explained the 07:30–16:30 schedule responds to local call patterns and limited staffing: with only two positions available, daytime shifts produce the "most bang for the buck" while still being positioned near school zones.
Commissioners acknowledged the distinction between funding positions (a court decision) and day-to-day deployment (an elected sheriff's responsibility). No final decision to fund the positions was recorded in the hearing; commissioners asked staff to weigh budget trade-offs and clarified the court's role is to decide whether to authorize funding.
Next steps: the commissioners said they must decide whether to fund the deputies as part of final budget adoption; public safety trade-offs were central to debates about where proposed budget cuts should fall.
