BASTROP, Texas — Bastrop ISD is taking steps to strengthen its police force and improve safety at schools. Construction crews are getting started on an approximately 55,000-square-foot police and operations building.
It is a $17.5 million facility that is part of a bond that voters approved in 2023.
Building on the future of Bastrop is what Bastrop ISD Director of Construction and Planning Lee Raspberry has in mind by bringing different functions together.
“That being maintenance, custodial grounds, child nutrition, warehouse – all those functions under one roof,” Raspberry said.
Raspberry said this facility is necessary given that more companies and jobs are moving to a booming Bastrop.
“By bringing all of the operations functions into this building, we’re freeing up the space that they’re currently in that we can use for classroom space,” Raspberry said.
The school district has 19 sworn law enforcement officers at schools. Bastrop ISD Police Chief Scot Bunch said they are not fully staffed yet and will need between 30-32 officers to comply with a sweeping school safety measure that requires an armed security officer at every school. Bunch believes the new building will help his team work collectively.
“We can continue operating how we are. What we have to do is work in collaboration, so we have to get together as groups,” Bunch said.
With school safety at the forefront of families’ minds, Bunch is confident this plan will help in serving students.
“We can go right next door and say, ‘Hey, I need this fixed. I need that fixed. What do you need from me?’ And so it allows us to work in that environment,” Bunch said.
It is helping create an environment that is safer for future generations.
Right now, police administration has taken over classroom space at the Colorado River Collegiate Academy. Construction on this project is expected to be complete in about a year.