Superintendent Phil Cagwin said he reached out to City Manager Bill Brock to see if City Council would be interested in a conversation on the issue. He said the inquiry was in reaction to the heightened awareness of the need for safe and secure schoools.
“This is something our board is always interested in,” Cagwin said. “We’re simply interested in what it could be as we evaluate our situation.”
Cagwin said the total student enrollment of about 3,000 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which had one SRO, is about the equivalent of the Monroe’s total student population at its two buildings, which are served by one SRO. Monroe schools have had an SRO since 2002, Cagwin said, adding that he felt better having a trained police officer in the building because the officer can know the local community and many families.
He said the district pays the officer’s salary and benefits for the nine-month school year and the city pays those costs for the other three months of the year.
In addition to being a presence in the buildings, the SRO assists with investigations of student behavior issues and works at teaching various safety and personal security topics to students in health classes for sixth- and ninth-graders, such as dealing with peer pressure, anti-drug choices, decision-making, bullying, and other student-related topics. He added that officers in patrol might also stop by a school building while on patrol.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, Brock said he’s asked police Chief Bob Buchanan to prepare a report about ways to increase the police presence in the school buildings. Some council members said this is something to research further as long as it was a good financial fit for the city and school district.
Mayor Robert Routson suggested that retired police officers might be a possible way to increase that presence. While Councilman Todd Hickman liked Routson’s idea of using retired police officers, he asked if there were school districts that use private security firms. Hickman also said he did not like the idea of arming teachers.
“Something needs to be done,” Hickman said.
Vice Mayor Dan Clark said the SRO issue has been discussed by the Safety Committee.
“It’s a good idea because we have one officer moving between buildings,” he said. “You can’t prevent everything but if it increases the safety of kids, I’m all for it.”
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