‘It’s just unfortunate,’ Bryan ISD officials weigh in on school safety funding challenges

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – After failing to pass additional funding for new school safety requirements in four legislative special sessions, the Texas Education Agency opened up a grant in December 2023 for school districts struggling to cover the associated costs.

The Safety and Facilities Enhancement (SAFE) grant is for school districts facing financial stress from the state’s school safety requirements. which includes costs ranging from installing fencing to hiring an armed security guard at every school in a district.

The application was open for a little over one month, and the TEA had to extend its deadline from Jan. 8 to Jan. 15 to allow more school districts to submit applications.

One of those districts applying is Bryan ISD. They discussed their work to apply for the grant during a Board of Trustees meeting Monday.

They’re grateful for access to additional funding, but officials said it’s a short-term fix for a long-term need.

”Any additional funding is always a good thing, particularly in a deficit year budget when we have unfunded or underfunded mandates. Clearly, this kind of grant would be used to help with those,“ Bryan ISD Board of Trustees President Dr. Julie Harlin said.

School districts across the state have spoken out about the financial stress of those unfunded or underfunded mandates put in place by the legislature.

“It’s just unfortunate because we have so many children in our state that depend upon state funding for a wonderful education,” Harlin said.

She added that it’s been a ‘frustrating year’ regarding the legislature’s inaction on school funding as no decisions were made.

The SAFE grant aims to alleviate some of that burden. Bryan ISD could receive over $2 million. Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Kevin Beesaw said that extra money will help meet some of their needs.

However, they’re disappointed with the legislature’s inability to pass it themselves during any of the four special sessions.

“I have seen our state use schools as a leverage point to try to do other things such as approve vouchers, which again failed miserably this year,” Harlin added.

Beesaw said that even with the grant, it’s still not enough to bring the district into compliance, and they will continue to search for other funding opportunities.