SRO position: prevention is key

By Ali Bronsdon / Leader Staff

Budget cuts are an unpleasant reality facing many of the school districts in Lake County this year. The St. Ignatius school board voted on proposed cuts in a special meeting April 1 and the Student Resource Officer was one of a handful of positions under the knife. Thanks to the efforts of board vice chairman Kristie Nerby, St. Ignatius will fund the SRO program for the 2008-2009 school year.

"I have a real problem with getting rid of the SRO," she said Tuesday night. "Nobody is more important than anyone else, but when it comes to safety, you can't deny what [St. Ignatius Student Resource Officer] Levi [Read] has brought to the school."

According to Read, the SRO program was born in the late '90s when Barb Monaco, Lake County's Chief Probation Officer, received a grant, which paid for Lake County's four officers to work in the schools. This past year, when the grant expired, the funding responsibility fell to the school districts and the county.

Now, Polson, Ronan and St. Ignatius each pay $40,000 a year to have a full-time SRO in their building, while Arlee and Charlo divide that cost and share an SRO. It actually costs about $83,000 a year to keep an officer in the school and the Lake County Sheriff's Department covers the remaining cost.

Lake County Sheriff Lucky Larson believes the benefits of the SRO program far outweigh its cost to the school. "I would hate to see [the schools] lose something that has really worked here," he said. "I remember the Amish shooting in Pennsylvania not too long ago and everyone was asking me then, 'Where is the SRO?'"

"Where is the SRO?" is one of the questions board members asked Read at the school board meeting Tuesday, March 18.

"One of the things we discussed is that we are paying for a full-time position and we aren't always getting that because you are spread pretty thin," said school board vice president Kristie Nerby in reference to the double-duty Read has been pulling since December to cover Charlo and Arlee's injured SRO, Steve Kendley.

"Our strength is in our numbers," Read said. "If something were to happen to me, another officer would cover here. And when I write a ticket, I have to take it to Polson. If they protest it, I have to be at court. My job is not a regular nine-to-five and I have other responsibilities that are included in my 40-hour week."

According to Read, if the board decides to downgrade the position from full to part-time, they will be getting far less officer presence at St. Ignatius.

"The effectiveness of the SRO is in prevention," he said. "If you have an SRO that travels, you will get about one-sixth of the officer presence you have now."

That presence not only encourages students to behave, but, according to Principle Jason Sargent, provides leverage for disciplinary action.

"It helps me a great deal," said Sargent. "Having that threat next door is somewhat of a deterring factor and it gives me the ability to deal with the things I need to deal with effectively."

This year, with Read's help, the school has been able to tackle tough issues like the presence of drugs and alcohol on campus. "He is trained to detect whether a kid is under the influence," Sargent said. "He can give them a sobriety test and determine with more authority whether a student is under the influence or not."

Read can also keep an eye on students while they are off campus during lunch and attending events after school hours or on the weekend. He can then inform the school if a situation may be threatening the safety of a student.

"This is a concern to me as a principle," said Sargent. "It is going to make it much more difficult to ensure safety and a clean school, but as a superintendent, I understand the situation."