Joe Garza is officially walking the halls of schools in the Kings Canyon Unified School District to help strengthen safety initiatives.
"Ensuring that everything is up to date, that it meets the current standards, that it meets the needs of society, that it meets the needs of our community because KCUSD does cover a large area and does cover multiple cities," said KCUSD Chief of School Safety and Security, Joe Garza.
Garza's public safety background and ability to bridge the gap between schools and peace officers is critical for district Student Services administrator - Sergio Rodriguez.
"There are times when we have to call law enforcement, whether that's the sheriff's department, the Reedley police department and what's nice is that we are going to have somebody who knows the staff already," said KCUSD Student Services administrator, Sergio Rodriguez.
The district approved the position at last month's board meeting.
But Rodriguez says they needed the right person.
"We believe with his expertise, he'll be able to come in and evaluate our campuses, our processes, our protocols, which we believe are already robust, but he'll take it to the next level," said KCUSD Student Services administrator Sergio Rodriguez.
While his retirement was short-lived - Garza says this new part-time consulting role is personal for him.
"It was just the right time, right everything, because I have a vested interested not only for the safety and security for the schools that my kids attend but also for the city. I've given 36 years of my career - my entire adult life to this community, and this is the least I can do," said Garza.
Garza started officially on Monday.
The contract for the position is year to year and will be evaluated every year.
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