The Mahomet-Seymour School District will partner with the Village of Mahomet to provide a School Resource Officer (SRO) beginning in the 2018-2019 school year.
Mahomet Police Officer Bill Ward has been selected to be the School Resource Officer. He will be stationed at Mahomet-Seymour High School, but will serve all building in the district, according to a press release sent by M-S Superintendent Lindsey Hall Monday.
“The mission of the School Resource Officer (SRO) Program is the reduction and prevention of school-related violence and crime committed by juveniles and young adults, combined with the establishment of positive and trusting relationships with students and families between the Mahomet Police Department and Mahomet-Seymour School District,” the press release reads.
“This is accomplished by assigning a Mahomet Police Officer to school facilities on a permanent basis. The SRO Program accomplishes this mission by creating and maintaining safe, secure and orderly learning environments for students, teachers and staff. Among the duties and goals of the SRO will be to establish a trusting channel of communication with students, parents and teachers, serve as a positive role model, promote citizen awareness of the law to enable students to become better informed and effective citizens while empowering students with the knowledge of law enforcement efforts and obligations regarding enforcement, and to serve as a confidential source of counseling for students and parents/families concerning law-related problems they might face as well as providing information on community resources available to students and families.”
The cost of the SRO will be shared by both the Village of Mahomet and the Mahomet-Seymour School District. Details of the agreement will become available through the board packets later this week.
The Board of Education will vote to approve the agreement on Monday, June 25 and the Village Board of Trustees will vote to approve the agreement on Tuesday, June 26.
Do we actually need this officer and why? Just because others have a resource officer what does that mean? Also, how much will this cost taxpayers and WHO is paying for this? Is this just a shift in the officers duties? It would seem that an officer might be able to cover this duty on his/her normal patrol or duties without having the need for just this position.