R-5 school district roots out funding alternatives in order to keep school resource officer

Sunday, September 14, 2003

Finding the money to continue paying for a school resource officer for the Nevada R-5 School District has been increasingly difficult, but with the help of the city of Nevada, the district will be able to fund the position for this school year. During a regular meeting of the R-5 Board of Education, administrator Christi Peterson said the city council had given its initial stamp of approval to a proposal to pitch in half of the money to pay School Resource Officer Pat McCarty's salary and enable the school district to continue having a police presence on the grounds. McCarty, a Nevada police officer, will spend most of his time at the schools during the school year. Peterson said this is the sixth year the services of a police officer have been employed in this manner, and in the beginning, the responsibility for paying the bill was a three-way split between the state, the city and the school district. Last year, administrators were aware that state funding wavered precariously, and Peterson said that in the end, the state's portion of funding for the position had been reduced. Now, due to a decrease in the state's ability to fund such activities, the state funding is gone, so the school must seek new ways to handle the related expenses. The school has applied for a federal grant for $35,000 per year, which, if approved, would pay for the district's school resource officer for three years. Peterson said she was recently notified that the district's application for the grant had been approved -- pending the next round of Congressional appropriations. Peterson said the benefits of having a school resource officer go beyond the obvious benefit of having an officer on site to keep the peace or to address any illegal activity taking place on school grounds. His most important role, Peterson said, has been in preventive measures implemented. "He has gone through all of our facilities," and identified potential risks, then "pushed us all" to develop a comprehensive plan to be used if needed.

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