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Madison County board approves SRO agreement with sheriff's office
Summary
The school board voted unanimously to enter into a service agreement with the Madison County Sheriff's Office to continue School Resource Officer coverage. Officials said state Safe Schools funding does not cover the full cost and the sheriff will continue supplying deputies to maintain campus safety.
The Madison County School Board on June 2 voted unanimously to enter into a service agreement with the Madison County Sheriff's Office to continue School Resource Officer (SRO) coverage for the consolidated campuses.
A sheriff’s office representative told the board the proposed contract keeps the district’s SRO staffing in place and described a deployment plan tied to consolidation. “As you can see in the contract, our plans ... [are] keeping all 6 SROs,” the representative said, and added deputies would be placed on elementary, middle and central campuses as consolidation moves forward.
Board members asked about funding and whether the district’s Safe Schools allocation covers those costs. The speaker said a portion of Safe Schools money is diverted to charter schools and that the available state funds do not cover the full cost of deputies. “The money that we received from the district from the state schools doesn't pay for all those SROs. It pays less than 60% of what it costs to have them,” the speaker said. The representative added the sheriff’s office regularly provides deputies for school events at no additional district charge.
Board member Knight moved to enter the SRO agreement; the motion was approved 5‑0. The board also approved an accompanying ESE agreement with the sheriff’s office for specialized support, which passed 5‑0.
Board members said school safety remains a top priority and that the SRO contract helps maintain law‑enforcement presence as the district consolidates campuses and adjusts routes and supervision. Details on the contract — including exact SRO allocation per campus and the budgetary offset — will be managed through the superintendent’s office and the sheriff’s office under the terms of the agreement.
