Kootenai County commissioners seek full fiscal accounting of school resource officer costs

Kootenai County commissioners on Sept. 9 pressed the sheriff’s office for a detailed fiscal accounting of school resource officer (SRO) contracts and their effect on patrol staffing and pay.

Under Sheriff Brett Nelson told the board he had brought the topic back “for purposes of giving some direction to our business partners” — including the Coeur d’Alene School District and North Idaho College (NIC) — so the sheriff’s office and county can negotiate fees and service levels going into the new fiscal year. Nelson said the county will use the requested direction to enter discussions and negotiations with partner agencies.

The board focused on two fiscal questions: how much SRO contracts actually cost the county when accounting for backfill and related personnel costs, and whether continuing or expanding contracts will reduce the county’s ability to fund pay increases and retention incentives for patrol deputies. Commissioners repeatedly asked the sheriff’s office to present the “complete fiscal impact” — including the cost to backfill deputies removed from patrol duty, effects on cost-of-living adjustments and longevity steps, and how contract revenue offsets those costs.

Commissioners and sheriff’s staff described operating realities that affect those calculations. Nelson said SRO training in recent years typically occurred the week after school ended and included basic and advanced SRO courses and a DARE school; the sheriff’s office does not generally backfill deputies while they attend in-service training. Sheriff’s staff said they encourage SROs to mirror the school calendar for vacation and leave but that deputies sometimes shift leave to summer or other periods.

Commissioners cited several personnel and staffing metrics during the discussion: an earlier period when patrol staffing was reported as roughly 30% down, a commonly referenced vacancy level in the exchange of about 20% as a problem threshold, and a sample budget framing in which $2,000,000 of new budget capacity could be tested against an estimated $400,000 cost to continue the SRO program. The sheriff’s office also noted that the county typically negotiates partial reimbursements for contracted positions (the sheriff’s office described a 70% reimbursement level compared with other agencies that might receive about 50%). The figures were presented during the meeting as claims by commissioners and staff and were not accompanied by a board-submitted spreadsheet in the meeting record.

Commissioners emphasized the trade-offs: contracts can provide patrol relief and community benefits when SROs are available for patrol during school breaks, but they also allocate deputies to fixed obligations that reduce patrol capacity and the county’s flexibility to increase staff pay. Commissioners said they want the sheriff’s office to analyze how continuing, expanding, or reducing SRO contracts would affect overtime, mandatory coverage, retention, and the sheriff’s share of the county budget.

The board did not adopt a formal policy or vote on specific contract terms during the meeting; instead, commissioners asked for a fiscal impact report and signaled they wanted the sheriff’s office to return with a recommendation and, if directed, to negotiate rates and terms with school and college partners.

The discussion included a brief public comment from Ron Hartman, who asked for clarity about the roles and responsibilities of counselors and SROs and whether SROs remain assigned to schools during summer and holiday periods. Hartman requested the sheriff’s office and school district coordinate on role definitions.

The commissioners’ request for a detailed fiscal analysis is expected to shape negotiations with the Coeur d’Alene School District and North Idaho College ahead of the next budget cycle.