Sheriff adds fifth officer to school patrols during district’s construction project

An announcement this week by the La Salle County Sheriff’s Office and Cotulla ISD has confirmed that a fifth resource officer is being added to the special patrol assigned to campus security.

The move came after Cotulla ISD laid out plans earlier this year for the buildings on its campuses that will house high schoolers during the extended construction period at the CHS campus on Hwy 97.

Sheriff Anthony Zertuche said on Tuesday this week that his presentation to county commissioners the day before had served to formalize a change in the special interlocal agreement between the county and school district for armed law enforcement patrols and security at Cotulla ISD campuses.

By the end of the last academic year, the sheriff’s office was providing four school resource officers to the special campus patrol under an agreement with the school district.

Cotulla ISD reimburses the sheriff’s office for the patrol deputies’ salaries in full, the sheriff said this week.

“We knew this was coming, because Cotulla ISD had been planning to build a new high school starting this academic year, so the students would be on several campuses,” Zertuche said on Tuesday.

“We work closely with the school district and knew that this plan would require extra law enforcement coverage. We need a patrol officer at each campus where students are taking their classes.”

During the construction period, the school district is putting back into service two of the campuses that have lain dormant since being replaced by newer buildings. The former Frank Newman Middle School and the former Ramirez/Burks Elementary School are back in use for a number of educational functions, and some students are still taking classes in high school campus facilities not earmarked for demolition.

“Primarily, we needed an officer at the old Newman, and that’s what we have been doing,” the sheriff said. “But we need to ensure that the high level of security that parents and students have come to expect is maintained.

“It clearly calls for an additional officer,” the sheriff added. “Any changes to the agreement with the school district need to be clarified to the county commissioners.”

School resource officers are fully licensed patrol deputies who have undergone additional training in handling school security, including crisis intervention and de-escalation, urgent response, threat management, student relations and youth-related issues such as bullying, as well as crowd movement and safety patrols at the beginning and end of each school day, at school functions and at sports events.