Muskogee council authorizes city manager to negotiate two SROs for Hilldale after hours of public comment

Muskogee — The Muskogee City Council voted unanimously April 28 to authorize the city manager to negotiate and execute a contract with Hilldale Public Schools to furnish two uniformed police officers to provide school-based security and serve as school resource officers. The vote follows more than an hour of public comment from students, teachers, parents and school leaders pleading to keep Officer Ford and Officer Jones stationed at Hilldale campuses.

The action authorizes the city manager to negotiate the terms of a contract with Hilldale Public Schools; the council’s motion and roll call approved sending that recommendation to the city manager. The item as written on the agenda described providing two uniformed officers to “provide law enforcement security for functions and act as the school resource officers for the school district campuses.” The motion passed on a unanimous roll call.

Why it matters: Hilldale serves more than 2,000 students and school and community leaders said the SROs do more than respond to emergencies — they build daily relationships, support students with trauma and help de-escalate incidents. Speakers repeatedly said that removing the current officers would break long-standing bonds that staff and students rely on.

Muskogee Police Chief Teehee told the council the department is under heavy staffing pressure and offered a compromise: keep one officer permanently at Hilldale while the department shifts staffing to patrol, with the hope that a strong hiring class will let the department restore a second dedicated SRO later. “We are 25% short of our patrol staffing,” Chief Teehee said in remarks to council. He described officer burnout and said if the council keeps two officers at Hilldale without department agreement, the chief would have to reassign personnel from other units to cover patrol needs.

Superintendent Eric Puckett of Hilldale Public Schools told the council Hilldale has paid 75% of the SRO contract and that the matter is not primarily about money but about continuity and training specific to school environments. “This has nothing to do with money. It has 100% to do with people and staffing,” Puckett said, urging the council to support the contract recommendation that would keep the two-officer arrangement in place.

Dozens of Hilldale staff, students and parents spoke during public comment. Student Kenley Moore said, “Every day when I walk through the doors, I feel safe. A big part of that is because of them.” Several teachers and the superintendent read letters and student notes describing how the SROs de-escalate incidents, help in medical emergencies and serve as trusted adults for at-risk students.

Councilors asked city attorneys and staff for clarity about authority: the council can recommend and authorize the city manager to negotiate a contract, but the city manager — under the charter — has exclusive authority to finalize and execute certain contracts and the police chief retains operational control of personnel deployment. City attorney and staff reiterated that the council’s vote would be a direction to the city manager, not a binding reassignment order of individual officers.

Council action and next steps: The council’s vote authorized the city manager to negotiate with Hilldale Public Schools for two uniformed officers. Council members indicated they expect the city manager to consider the council’s support for Hilldale in negotiations; however, the chief emphasized that final assignment of officers is subject to the department’s staffing realities. Council members said they would follow up with the manager and police command as negotiations proceed.

Votes at a glance: The motion to authorize the city manager to negotiate and execute a contract with Hilldale Public Schools for two uniformed school resource officers passed unanimously (roll call: all members voting “yes”).

Community context: Speakers and school leaders stressed that Hilldale’s SROs interact with more than 2,000 students, staff and families daily and that the program has long included training tailored to school settings. Several speakers urged the city to pursue a solution that preserves the current officers while addressing police staffing shortages.