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Council approves one-year School Resource Officer MOU with Verona Area School District
Summary
The Verona Common Council approved a one-year memorandum of understanding to place a School Resource Officer (SRO) in Verona schools for the 2025–26 school year, with the Verona Area School District paying 80% of costs and the city 20%. The MOU requires twice-yearly data reports and retains city supervision of the officer.
The Verona Common Council voted Feb. 24 to approve a memorandum of understanding establishing a School Resource Officer (SRO) in the Verona Area School District for the period July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.
City staff said the SRO will be a Verona Police Department employee chosen by the police chief and supervised by a patrol lieutenant; the school district will pay 80% of the SRO cost and the city 20%. The MOU requires the SRO to submit data reports twice annually that will include the number of citations issued and other statistics.
Chief Dresser (Verona Police Department) presented the MOU and described the program’s history. He said the position dates to 1998 under an earlier title and that the department has three officers interested in the role now. “We’re choosing that title because that is what’s common throughout Dane County,” he said, explaining the MOU language and operational arrangements. Dresser and Lieutenant Matt Dart will supervise the SRO; the district’s Deputy Superintendent Chad Wheezy participated in the negotiation, staff said.
The MOU requires the school district to retain its own security staff; city staff described that as a complementary arrangement in which school security can manage local incidents and the SRO will intervene when police response is necessary. The MOU also clarifies backfill: the agreement allows a week or less of unfilled SRO time without guaranteed backfill; absences longer than a week will require additional staffing discussions.
Council members voiced support for restoring a police presence in schools but also emphasized nondisciplinary goals such as relationship-building and mentoring. Alder Helmke and Alder Tucker Long both expressed support; Alder Helmke specifically praised the district’s security staff and encouraged community measures like safe-gun-storage promotion as part of school-safety strategy.
The motion to approve the SRO MOU was made by Alder Hoax and seconded by Alder Harrison; the motion passed.
