Gary Thomas, the newly seated superintendent of Preston schools, told the city council he supports expanding school resource officer (SRO) coverage across grade levels and discussed behavioral challenges he said schools are seeing in younger children.

“I have been 31 years in the County School District. I've been 20 years as a principal at the elementary, the middle school, and the high school level, and I spent 8 years in the district office as the assistant superintendent,” Thomas said while describing his background. He said younger children are arriving at school with less socialization and more severe behavioral incidents and argued early SRO contact can help teach and model appropriate behavior.

“In our neighboring states, they are actually requiring resource officers at every level, high school, junior high, and elementary,” Thomas said. He described SROs as “1 more adult who is a good model citizen for these kids to look up to, who's building relationships with these kids and can help them. To discipline means to teach, and they're gonna help us teach these kids.”

Thomas said the district currently has one dedicated SRO at the high school and a part-time deputy through the county; a grant allowed hiring a second SRO previously, he said. He described a plan to have a full-time SRO at the high school, one at the junior high, and to have a shared SRO or county deputy provide visual presence and support at elementary schools.

Council members said the item aligns with budget planning: the council was reviewing a budget workshop that included adding another SRO. One councilor noted the city and school district would likely share funding for any additional officers.

Thomas framed the SRO role as prevention and relationship building rather than punishment, citing examples of severe classroom incidents among very young students and arguing earlier intervention can reduce later problems.

The council did not adopt new policy at the meeting. The superintendent’s remarks were heard as part of the public portion of the meeting and tied into a separate budget workshop discussion in which council members included funding for additional SRO coverage for the coming year.

Councilors asked about timelines and cost-sharing; Thomas said funding arrangements would be subject to discussion between the school district and the city and that prior grant-funded positions had been used to expand SRO coverage.