board, calls for hiring a school marshal to serve as a safety officer at each elementary school campus in the district. The marshals’ responsibilities would include patrolling the campuses, performing safety checks and audits and conducting safety training drills.
A school marshal “would in essence take the place of the hired off-duty officers who presently reside on campuses. They will not wear uniforms but they will carry a concealed handgun and be a employee,” according to school board documents. “A marshal's primary role is to engage and protect during an active attack.
Standridge said 74 Texas school districts are operating marshal programs, with about 300 marshals currently in place. There are about 1,200 school districts in the state. The board members voted 6-1 to have the district pursue a three-year pilot program using school marshals, but did not set a date for the program to begin. The district said it expects to spend more than $500,000 per year on the program over the three years.