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Rock Springs Council approves MOU to restore third school resource officer
Summary
Council accepted a memorandum with Sweetwater County School District No. 1 to provide school resource officers at three schools; the district pays half of SRO costs, and the city said replacing a reduced post will help staffing and school safety.
The Rock Springs City Council on July 15 approved a memorandum of understanding with Sweetwater County School District No. 1 to provide school resource officers at Rock Springs High School, Rock Springs Junior High School and Eastside Elementary School and authorized the mayor to execute the MOU.
A Police Department representative told the council a school resource officer is a police officer whose full-time duty is to the school and who is housed there with an office on campus. "They're regular police officers with full duty and authority of the police department, but they receive specialized training to deal with children and their needs," the Police Department representative said.
Council discussion noted the SRO program had been reduced from three officers to two because of staffing and budget cuts; restoring the third officer is contingent on staffing and applicant availability. The Police Department representative said the district and city have a cost-sharing arrangement in which the school district pays 50% of the officer's cost.
City leaders said maintaining SROs allows the police department to keep patrol staffing intact while providing in-school coverage. The MOU passed with council approval; a councilor who is a client of a city vendor abstained from an unrelated resolution later in the meeting but did not abstain from the SRO vote.
The MOU formalizes the partnership and the location of SROs but does not change the underlying hiring or budget process; staffing remains subject to city hiring practices and budget constraints.
