The Burleson ISD will have an armed officer in every elementary school after the school board approved Monday the hiring of eight former law enforcement officers.
The district said they were launching their first-ever school safety officer (SSO) team with the goal of having trained professionals carrying weapons at all elementary campuses in the district.
“Burleson ISD’s School Safety Officer program is founded on our core belief that former commissioned peace officers are the most capable security personnel as they are highly trained, skilled, and experienced,” said BISD Superintendent Dr. Bret Jimerson. “These newly hired School Safety Officers offer the best solution for districts that wish to bolster its safety and security plan by adding personnel to elementary campuses.”
The board approved the hiring of eight people Monday to fill out their roster and bring the total number of school safety officers to 10.
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More information about each of the eight officers can be read on Burleson's website.
The eight new officers will join two former Fort Worth Police Officers hired in August and September as the district's first school safety officers. The first two hires were 30-year police veteran and former homicide detective Curt Brannan and 36-year police veteran and former gang intelligence and detective sergeant Richard Morris.
The district said Brannan and Morris assisted in hiring the eight additional SSOs, working with the district Safety and Security Committee, including Burleson Chief of Police Billy Cordell, to interview candidates.
All 10 officers are former law enforcement officers with backgrounds in school resource programs, school and city emergency operations, SWAT, executive and dignitary protection, police intelligence, military police and drug trafficking enforcement.
