Grayson County puts Cooke jail-bed renewal on its agenda

Grayson County wants to keep sending inmates to the Cooke County Jail in Gainesville when it needs the room. Renewal of the two counties' inmate-housing agreement was on the Grayson County Commissioners Court's Oct. 5 consent agenda.

The agenda lists the item but does not record a vote. Approval could not be confirmed in the county records reviewed for this report. Grayson commissioners approved the previous renewal 5–0 on Sept. 9, 2025, according to county records.

That September 2025 agreement already set Cooke's charge at $70 per inmate per day, the contract shows. None of the records available for this report establishes a new increase for 2026.

Grayson's monthly bill from Cooke changes a lot. The county's payment registers list $32,410 owed to the Cooke County Sheriff for January 2026 inmate housing and $8,120 for May. Grayson's adopted fiscal 2026 budget sets aside about half a million dollars for inmate housing.

Grayson is also adding jail space of its own. SEDALCO, the contractor on the county's jail addition in Sherman, says the project has room for 166 more inmates, including multi-person and isolation cells. The company also lists renovations to the kitchen, showers and loading dock. It gives no completion date. Sheriff Tom Watt told the Texas Commission on Jail Standards in May 2024 that the work would cut the share of dormitory-style housing from nearly three-quarters to about half, according to the commission's minutes.

The 2025 agreement leaves each county with its own say. Grayson decides whether to send an inmate. Cooke decides whether to take one, and only when a bed is open. Cooke County lists its Gainesville jail at 212 beds and 45 employees. Grayson pays its inmates' medical, dental and mental-health costs, including testing and prescriptions. It also pays for any transport that isn't an emergency. If a hospital stay lasts more than four hours, Grayson must provide a guard and pay for it.

The 2025 contract ran from Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026. The term of any renewal has not been verified. Under the 2025 contract, the agreement renews automatically each year, and any amendment needs approval from both the Cooke County Commissioners Court and the Grayson County Commissioners Court. Either county can end it with 30 days' written notice. The contract says it takes effect on the date the second county judge signs it.

Cooke charges Collin County $75 a day under a separate 2025 agreement. That rate includes routine medical care inside the jail and trips to medical facilities within 50 miles that don't need an ambulance. Collin is billed separately for ambulance rides and hospital guards.

| Daily rate per inmate | Amount | Source |

| --- | ---: | --- |

| Cooke, before increase noted Sept. 2023 | $50 | Grayson minutes |

| Cooke, after that increase | $55 | Grayson minutes |

| Cooke to Grayson, 2025 contract | $70 | Contract |

| Cooke to Collin, 2025 agreement | $75 | Collin agreement |

| Private jails in Parker and Haskell counties, cited 2023 | $92.50 | Grayson minutes |