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Board meeting introduces new campus police officer Eddie Rivera and K9 Nyla
Summary
The board meeting included a public introduction of campus police officer Eddie Rivera, who will begin in March and bring his certified detection dog, Nyla. No formal board vote was recorded for the hire during open session.
District staff introduced Eddie Rivera as the new campus police officer assigned to Wartsborough Middle School; he is scheduled to join the district team in March and will train for the remainder of the spring quarter before assuming the middle-school assignment.
A district staff member described Rivera’s background: five years in the Marines, five years as a Kansas juvenile corrections officer, a year as a Shawnee County corrections officer and three years with the Valley Falls Police Department. Rivera attended the meeting with Nyla, a three-year-old Belgian Malinois narcotics-detection canine. Rivera said the dog has been on duty about six months and is certified to detect marijuana products and THC concentrates; she is not yet certified for fentanyl detection.
District staff said they may seek board permission later to deploy Nyla in schools for safety and deterrence work once the handler-team is trained and district policies are in place. No formal vote on hiring or canine deployment was taken during open session; the board and staff discussed training timelines and building assignments.
Eddie Rivera said at the meeting: "She's been on duty about 6 months. She graduated back in August... She certified on everything except for fentanyl." The board welcomed Rivera and Nyla and noted the canine has been popular with students at Rivera’s previous assignments.
The district said Rivera will begin training and that the board will be kept informed about any policy or permission requests related to canine use in district buildings.
