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Beaufort County announces Class 3 School Resource Officer training program to staff elementary schools
Summary
Sheriff's office and municipal police officials outlined a locally delivered Class 3 School Resource Officer (SRO) training syllabus approved by the South Carolina Training Council, aiming to start an eight-week class in June to place officers in elementary schools this fall.
Beaufort County law enforcement officials announced a new Class 3 School Resource Officer (SRO) training program designed to expand law enforcement staffing in local schools, especially elementary schools, by creating a shorter, locally delivered training track.
Sheriff's office training staff described the program as an eight-week, locally delivered Class 3 syllabus approved by the South Carolina Training Council. Officials said the first class is planned to begin in June so newly certified officers can be ready for deployment when school starts in August. The sheriff explained that Class 3 SROs will be uniformed, armed and have the arrest powers of other law enforcement officers on school grounds.
Speaking about recruitment, one official said the program is likely to attract retired military and other retirees who want to work a school schedule and remain local: "they could make $45,000 a year starting pay to work basically the schedule of the teaching and support staff of the school district," an official said, describing pay and schedule as recruitment incentives. Officials emphasized this is intended to be a full law enforcement role, not a security-guard position.
Officials discussed staffing needs and roles: one speaker said the program currently has two openings, with a possible third, and countywide officials described a broader target of filling nine SRO positions across jurisdictions. The training will be conducted jointly across municipal and county agencies so recruits from different employers train together and form a cross-jurisdictional network for advice and support.
County communications staff were asked to post program information and application details on participating agencies' web pages and to provide contact numbers to encourage applicants to apply. Officials said the program is intended to be available across employment hosts (city police departments and the sheriff's office) and that all hires who complete the Class 3 certification would be eligible to work as SROs regardless of their employer.
No formal action or vote was recorded in the transcript for this portion; officials described the program and asked staff to publicize application information.
