Lone Tree to pay for school resource o cers ahead of new school

BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

With the upcoming opening of a new school campus in Lone Tree, the city has agreed to help pay for school resource o cers.

e Douglas County School District Legacy Campus is set to open this school year at 10035 S. Peoria St. e campus will o er career and technical education programming — such as architectural engineering, advanced robotics, aviation and nursing — to high school juniors and seniors across the school district, according to the Douglas County School District.

e school district requested that Lone Tree provide a full-time school resource o cer for the Legacy Campus, according to a city sta report. e district also reportedly asked that the city have another full-time school resource o cer who will provide services for the other three schools in the city — Eagle Ridge Elementary, Lone Tree Elementary and the alternative high school Eagle Academy.

e Lone Tree Police Department traditionally provided a part-time “school marshal” for the two elementary schools in the city for about two hours a day in each school, per the report. ese duties were shared between multiple Lone Tree Police e agreement called for the city to provide two full-time police ofcers to function as school resource o cers, with one o cer stationed at the Legacy Campus and the other o cer alternating between the other schools, according to the sta report.

Department Community Partnership Unit o cers.

Lone Tree City Council members unanimously agreed July 18 to the new arrangement, which includes splitting the salary cost for two school resource o cers with the school district, amounting to the city paying $136,500.

However, Lone Tree Chief of Police

Kirk Wilson said the police department will have to sort out how it will cover the elementary schools and the alternative high school, given that Eagle Academy starts its classes in the afternoon rather than in the morning.

“ ere’s gonna be multiple people, probably, involved in trying to cover Eagle Ridge and Eagle Academy,” he said, explaining that several o cers may work to ful ll the role of the second school resource o cer position.

According to the presentation Wilson gave to the council, O cer Mark Pane will be assigned to the Legacy Campus, making him the Lone Tree

Police Department’s rst full-time school resource o cer.

Mayor Jackie Millet took a moment to thank Wilson for his work on the agreement with the school district.

“I know this was a long negotiation and I very much appreciate you sticking with it and making sure that we got … adequate coverage for all of the schools,” Millet said. “ ank you for advocating.”

Residents who are interested in learning more about the Legacy Campus can attend an open house on Aug. 8 between 1-3 p.m. at 10035 S. Peoria St. as well as visit legacycampus.org.