More police SROs approved,pending councilvote

By KATRINA J.E. MILTON kmilton@shawmedia.com

DeKALB –DeKalb SchoolDistrict knowwhatit’dlook liketophase in.”

428 is one stepclosertobringingtwo more policeschoolresourceofficers from the DeKalbPolice Department to district schools starting next school year.

On Tuesday, the DeKalbSchool District 428 board voted, 4-1, to approve two school resource officers with the option of athird if neededfor the2022-23school year. Boardmember Jeromy Olsonabstained fromvoting, Board member Amanda Harness voted no and Board PresidentSarah Moses was absent. Boardmembers Samantha McDavid, Ariel Owens, Deyci Ramirez andDavid Seymour voted yes.

One officer wouldbestationed at DeKalb High School and the other would be stationed at Clinton Rosette and Huntleymiddle schools. The officer appointments won’t be finalized, however, until aDeKalb City Council vote is taken, expected Monday

Under the SRO intergovernmental agreement contract with the city and school district, District 428 would reimburse the city of DeKalb 75% of the total amount for the officer’s salaries and benefits, which total$130,821 per SRO including district-related overtime costs, documentsshow. The district’s 75% funding obligation totals $98,116per SRO, records show.

Theschooldistrictalso is expected to help pay for the DeKalbPolice Department to buy three more police squadvehicles,a$36,000 cost, according to districtdocuments.

DeKalb Mayor CohenBarnes attended the school board meeting andsaidheexpects the DeKalbCity Council to take up the vote on the SRO contracts and policevehicles Monday.

If final approval is given, officers will begin the training process, said DeKalb Police Chief DavidByrd, who also was in attendance Tuesday. He saidschool resourceofficer training can take up to 10 weeks for police officers who’ve already beenthrough traditional police academy.

To fill positions thatwill be vacated by patrol officers who become SROs, new hires with the DeKalb Police Department would need to complete a 26-week training process before they can patrol solo,Byrd said.

The schoolresourceofficervote has been the topicofdebate for weeks among the DeKalb school board and city officials. In previous conversations, school board members and Byrd have called the proposal “a Band-Aid approach” amid what districtstaff havereported as arise in behavioral issues identifiedinschools.

“[It’s] agoodsolutioninthe meantime,” Owens saidTuesday.

Before voting, Seymour said he questioned the need for three additional SROs, which was the original proposalupfor vote.

“I definitely feel that we need one more …atthe high school, but I’m not so surethat Ifeelthatweneed three total,” Seymour said. “We talked alot about phasing out, but I’d really like to

Olson spoke at length about whether the school board shouldlook into privatethird-party security companies instead of police to lower costs. The initial three-SROproposal –which would have put officers at DeKalb High School, one among the middle schools and one among the elementary schools –came with a$430,000 budgetask.

“If we’re going to spend half amilliondollarsoftaxpayer money, I’d like to see us do due diligence,” Olson said. “We do know that SROsare half amilliondollars, and what Iwas just reading, and the due diligence that Idid, it looks like alot of the schools are going away fromSROsstatistically.”

Olson said he’d prefer one more securityofficer at thehigh school.

McDavid said that she saw the hiring of more SRO officersasamultiprong approach.

“It’s suchacomplex issuewhen you’re talking about student behavior and student achievement and how thoseinteract witheachother,” McDavidsaid. “I think youneedmore than one approach. You can’t just say we need social workers. You have to look at all of the parts that we need, and I thinkthat’s what this plan is trying to address.”

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