The South Central School Board unanimously Wednesday night agreed to share a School Resource Officer with the Patoka School District. The Patoka School Board voted 5-2 last week to enter into the three-year agreement with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department.
The biggest concern at South Central was how the school resource officer could be used at the high school which is in Farina and in Fayette County.
Sheriff Kevin Cripps responded the SRO would not have arrest powers in Fayette County, but could still be utilized at the high school to teach classes and interact with students. He said the officer could also respond to emergencies at the school as would all other available officers. In the event the Farina Police Department doesn’t have an officer on duty and no Fayette County Sheriff’s Deputy is close, they could also request Fayette County to send the SRO if he was nearby in Kinmundy.
Cripps says one of his goals if elected sheriff was to get school resource officers into the school. While the county doesn’t have money to provide the officers, Cripps believes funding SROs and mental health workers was one of the main reasons voters approved the 1-cent sales tax to go to the schools. Both South Central and Patoka plan to utilize those funds for the SRO.
Cripps says the resource officer’s job falls in three areas.
“One of the things that really stood out is the pyramid. The officer is first a teacher, then he’s a mentor to those kids and builds a relationship with the kids, and then is a police officer after that. If you do well with the first two things, the third thing comes pretty easy.”
Salem Community High School’s School Resource Officer Craig Vieira was also in attendance at the meeting. He notes the relationships he has been able to build with students as well as acting to assist in areas of truancy or other school issues, sometimes as their advocate.
South Central Superintendent Kerry Herdes feels he’ll be able to work with Patoka School Superintendent Justin Venhaus on a schedule for the officer to allow the best usage by both districts.
“Mr. Venhaus [Patoka Superintendant] and I have been talking quite a bit regarding the SRO. Both of us had interest and both of us have been at meetings with Sheriff Kevin Cripps to discuss and talk about it. We think it will be a really good shared resource for both of us and help us both feel safer for our kids well being and see what that position can do for us. We are excited.”
The two superintendents will now sit down with the sheriff to pick from several current deputies the sheriff feels would make good SROs. The one selected will go to training this summer and will go to work as the school resource officer in the fall.
Due to training requirements, the sheriff says this is the only School Resource Officer position he wants to create for the coming school year.
