Department of Public Safety seeks $21 million to fully fund school resource officers and requests additional recurring funds for patrol, equipment and IT

Rob Woods, director of the Department of Public Safety, told the Legislative Budget Subcommittee the department’s top recurring funding request is $21,000,000 to fully fund the state-supported School Resource Officer (SRO) program and related administration.

Woods said the $21 million request breaks down into about $3,000,000 to close a shortfall on the 430 SROs the state currently funds, roughly $15,900,000 to add funding for 177 additional eligible schools, and about $1,400,000 for planning and administration. He said the department does not employ SROs; local jurisdictions hire the officers and the state reimburses salaries, training and equipment. Woods told the committee that the quarterly reimbursement process can create the appearance of a large cash balance while funds are already obligated.

“Sometimes you’ll go in and see in skis that there’s a large cash balance,” Woods said, explaining the reimbursement timing. He also said the agency received 33 SRO applications it could not fill last year for lack of funds and that with additional funding the state could potentially fill many more vacancies over the next two fiscal years.

Woods presented several other recurring requests, including about $1,700,000 to honor law-enforcement step increases, approximately $3,400,000 to fund 30 additional highway-patrol positions, $3,900,000 for gasoline for an approximately 1,300-vehicle fleet, and $1,800,000 to cover increased workers’ compensation and insurance-reserve costs. Nonrecurring requests include $8,000,000 for SRO training and equipment (to outfit projected new hires), $1,200,000 to begin a multi‑year radio replacement plan (to avoid a single large replacement in five years), and $1,000,000 initial outlay plus $500,000 recurring to integrate patrol dispatch into the state’s new-generation 911 system and add an IVR triage capability.

When a senator asked, “Is 430 all that we need?” Woods replied the department estimates another 177 SROs would be required to reach every eligible school and described a plan to fill positions over time if funding is provided. Woods also noted that some funds historically used for nonrecurring training and equipment were exhausted funding existing positions this year.

Woods listed other technology and equipment requests: Microsoft 365 licensing and shared-services costs ($1,200,000), a $2,800,000 request to maintain a six‑year agency vehicle rotation that accounts for about 60 annual losses to crashes or catastrophic failures, $1,900,000 for law-enforcement upfit and recurring equipment purchases, $324,000 for taser program costs, and $279,000 to place body armor on a planned replacement rotation. He framed these as operational necessities tied to recruitment, retention and officer safety.

Woods also told the committee the agency will relinquish $12,500,000 in budget authority because school resource funds are shifting from the Education Improvement Act into the general fund; he pointed out that several of the department’s priorities also appear in the governor’s executive budget.

No formal vote or proviso change was taken during the presentation; the hearing was an informational budget request and Q&A.