Sheriff urges board to pursue state grant to restore two school resource officers

Sheriff April Edwards told Mathews County supervisors the county cannot continue to rely on a single school resource officer (SRO) to serve all three public schools and urged the board to consider a state grant to fund two SRO positions.

Edwards said Sergeant Hill has been the SRO for the three schools since 2017 and handled "every crime, every investigation" in the school division. She told the board the workload is now excessive: "Last year alone ... I believe there was approximately, if not more, 100 threat assessments conducted across all 3 schools for last school year." She said one person cannot meet that demand and that investigators and deputies are logging extended hours responding to violent incidents and homicides in 2025.

Grant opportunity and funding constraints

Sheriff Edwards said the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) issued a grant solicitation that would fund up to $100,000 per SRO position, but the county's required local match is tied to the state's local composite index and will not fully cover ongoing costs. "They will fund up to $100,000 per SRO position ... the state will give us 41,000 per each position," she said, adding that items like uniforms and equipment can be included in grant budgets to help reach the figure.

School leaders back increased SRO presence

Dr. Daniel, superintendent of Mathews County Public Schools, and the school board chair said they held a productive meeting with the sheriff and school staff to work through communication and operational issues. The superintendent said the school division supports increased SRO presence; the school board chair said her board has "always wanted 2 SROs, 1 for each building" and encouraged the Board of Supervisors to consider supporting a grant application.

Board response and next steps

Supervisors asked staff to review the grant materials provided by the sheriff. The sheriff asked for a meeting before August 13, the DCJS application deadline, if the board wanted to consider pursuing the grant. Several members said they would review the packet and return with questions.

Ending

The sheriff said she would absorb initial equipment and uniform costs but asked the board to consider how to meet ongoing local-match obligations if the grant is awarded. The board did not vote on funding at the meeting but agreed to continue discussions to determine whether to apply for the grant.