Verse of the Week

Howe ISD to offer insurance to students

Howe ISD has been in the minority of not offering insurance to students In the past, students have been injured and either did not have insurance or did not have adequate insurance Fundraisers have taken place over the years to help the gap between medical bills and Superintendent Kevin Wilson says now is the time to provide insurance at the school level

"I personally feel like for a fairly small amount of money, it's something we can offer for our students and parents," said Wilson to the school board on Monday night "It will cover not only athletic events but if a kid fell off the monkey bars and broke his arm "

The board looked at four different types of insurance that were specified for different services Wilson recommended an unallocated plan to the board

The plan would cover players in athletics that suffer an injury unless it is an injury due to repetitive motion (such as a baseball pitcher's throwing arm)

Prior to this motion, any player that was injured in a football game or any other sport would be liable 100 percent for any injury cost The school district had no liability prior to Monday's action School Board Member Clint Catching made the motion to provide student accident insurance and allow the administration to choose a policy

Howe ISD to create a police force

In the April 23 edition of the Howe Enterprise, it was announced that the City of Howe and Howe ISD would partner together to share a resource officer However, the number of applicants were small and Howe ISD has moved forward with a different plan

Howe ISD Superintendent Kevin Wilson has been reluctant in the past to have the district create a police force, but after visiting with Anna ISD and their situation, but he feels now that having a Howe ISD Police Chief that answers to the district and not the city council is more favorable

"Another pro for us to be able to find a police chief is that it's an opportunity for advancement for possibly someone who is retiring from a city or county force and can get into the school business and get in our retirement benefits," said Wilson to the board

After visiting with Anna ISD's police chief, Wilson felt more comfortable since the chief said they had wished it were set up sooner

The first step in the process is to hire an SSD (safety and security director) which would be a police officer who would be commissioned by another organization The officer would be armed security for the district and would be the police chief-in-waiting There is a process to be approved to have an ISD police force which is a three to six-month process In the interim through the process period, the SSD would have that title instead of police chief until the ISD process has been fulfilled

"When everything gets approved, the SSD becomes the chief and we can hire additional officers at that time," said Wilson.

The going rate for a school police chief is $70,000 to $80,000 Wilson said he and Howe ISD Finance Director Julie Snapp looked at the budget and were able to shift dollars around in order to make room for the hire

Another expense that the district would incur would be a police vehicle Wilson says that he learned from the Anna ISD police chief that they could purchase a Dodge Charger for far less than $31,000 The projected cost in year one is $57,000 plus the salary Wilson says the bulk of that amount is in the vehicle but expects it to be far less than the projected amount The total slot would be $110,000 for the first year to start the Howe ISD Police Force

Wilson did discuss other options with the board including hiring security companies or off-duty officers

"My main thing is that I want a person assigned here every day where it's not a revolving door with an officer that doesn't know our kids," said Wilson "I don't want just an armed presence A big part of this I think is becoming part of the district and building relationship with students and staff "

Wilson also suggested that down the road if the officer has a degree, they could teach some courses

Wilson suggested that he felt comfortable that the district could find a police chief by the beginning of this school year and be in a situation to have multiple officers by this time next year

School Board Member Clint Catching made the motion which carried unopposed

Dr. Ken Bridges