Eanes Independent School District (ISD) is facing backlash over its proposal to purchase a fleet of Tesla vehicles to serve as police cars for the district. The proposal has sparked concerns among parents and a state lawmaker over the district’s spending priorities.
“Where are our priorities? Clearly our priorities are not our kids and not our teachers,” said Jennifer Stevens, a parent in the Eanes ISD, according to Fox7Austin. The district’s agenda indicated that it had received two proposals for police vehicles, with Teslas being considered the best value in terms of cost, availability, and reliability. The proposal called for the acquisition of nine Tesla vehicles at a cost of at least $375,000.
“Our district is currently $2 million in the red. We have a huge budget deficit,” Stevens added. “We do not have any electric vehicle chargers on any of our campuses, so now we’re going to buy a bunch of electric vehicles that we do not have the capacity to charge for people who are not supposed to be leaving campus.”
The school board had approved the formation of its own police department in June, in compliance with a new law requiring armed peace officers at each of the district’s nine campuses. “Eanes ISD followed a legal procurement process of police vehicles and is recommending to the Board of Trustees the best value in the bid process,” the district stated.
Texas House Representative Ellen Troxclair expressed concerns over the proposal. “It concerns me that if they were moving forward with, again, hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars, not clearly understanding the requirement to begin with, it makes me wonder what other things they might be misinterpreting,” she said. Troxclair also labeled the idea of using Teslas for school officers as a misuse of money.
The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) noted that while patrol vehicles are part of the consideration for establishing a new law enforcement agency, there is no rule specifying the number of vehicles required.
Tesla police fleets have proven to be moneysavers as proved by previous departments that made the switch. Savings come from no longer spending funds on fuel and maintenance over the long term.
The school board has tabled the item and plans to meet with TCOLE next week to review the requirements