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Council hears that schools currently cannot sustain previous funding share for SRO; recruitment and cost cited as obstacles
Summary
Shelton police told the City Council on June 10 that the city currently has no full-time school resource officer because of staffing shortages and because the school district can now contribute only 5 percent toward the position, down from a historical 75/25 split.
The Shelton Police Department briefed the council on June 10 on the status of school resource officer (SRO) coverage. Police staff said the city currently does not have an assigned SRO because staffing constraints make it impractical to assign one. Historically, the SRO position was paid roughly 75 percent by the school district and 25 percent by the city; police staff reported the school district’s latest proposal would cover about 5 percent of the position’s cost, leaving an untenable funding gap.
Police staff described the program’s benefits — daily relationship-building with students, a ready responder if an incident occurs at school, and longer-term recruitment and community-policing benefits — but said the city’s department is short on officers and would struggle to sustain an SRO without a larger school-district contribution or a dedicated grant. The county is developing a new DARE program that could be an alternative or supplementary youth-engagement model, staff said.
Council members expressed support for SROs as beneficial to student-officer relationships and school safety, but several said they could not commit to absorbing the historical funding gap without a more durable revenue source. Staff and council also discussed interim options, such as occasional officer visits to events (bike rodeos, assemblies) and better recruitment strategies to restore capacity over time.
Council direction and next steps: Staff will continue to track school-district willingness to contribute and report back if additional funding sources or grants appear feasible; no formal decision was taken.
