County advisory committee urges funding for more school safety officers; public urged to attend Wednesday vote

Bill Ertle, a member of the County Law Enforcement Advisory Committee, used his public-comment time at the June 11 3 Rivers/Josephine County School District meeting to press for additional school safety personnel.

Ertle said the advisory committee was formed after a local taxing measure and that the committee spent months discussing community needs. He said members met with district staff and school principals to examine how law enforcement could support schools and that the committee recommended increasing the number of school safety officers (school resource officers) to three at schools that requested additional coverage. "They really would like to to have 3," Ertle said.

Ertle told the board the committee had succeeded in getting the request included in a budget proposal but that the allocation was not yet finalized. "Next Wednesday at 10:00 in the morning, this is going to be finally decided. So if you feel strongly about having another school safety or school resource officer, I beg you to show up because we're on the borderline and your help would be great," he said.

The board did not take formal action on the request during the June 11 meeting. Board members and staff noted the proposal’s inclusion in budget discussions and said final funding would depend on the district’s budget decisions and any intergovernmental arrangements with the county sheriff.

What happens next: Ertle encouraged community members to attend the next meeting where the matter will be decided; the district indicated budget staff and the board will consider the funding request as part of the final budget implementation and interagency coordination.