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Fridley to expand school resource officer coverage; district says special ed tuition will fund new SROs at VISTA
Summary
Superintendent announced an expansion to four school resource officers (SROs) including two officers to support the VISTA program; the district said the additional cost for the specialized SRO assignment will be covered by special education tuition agreements, not the general fund.
Fridley Public Schools announced plans to expand its embedded School Resource Officer (SRO) program to four officers and to continue a district-hired security officer at VISTA, the district lternative and therapeutic program.
Superintendent Dr. Lewis told the board the district currently has two traditional, on-site SROs (Officer Nico at the high school and Officer Dave at the middle school) and has added a district security officer, Jason, to provide coverage at VISTA since January. The administration reported it will add a third SRO at the start of the school year and a fourth SRO by Jan. 1; each selection will involve both the Fridley Police Department and the district in the hiring process.
The administration presented estimated costs for SRO coverage. For the two traditional SRO positions the district cited a combined cost of $145,000 for the 2025—ontract year and $154,000 for the following year (figures given in the presentation). For the specialized SRO assignment at VISTA, the superintendent identified a larger recurring figure and described it as approximately "$403,000 annually," and emphasized that the district will cover that cost through tuition agreements and special education dollars so the district general fund will not be impacted. Dr. Lewis described the funding model as commercially fair and said the Fridley Police Department will supply vehicles and equipment for the assigned officers.
Dr. Lewis said the SROs and the police leadership have adapted nontraditional roles for the VISTA environment, and credited Lieutenant Titus and Chief George for partnership and responsiveness during a period when many districts reduced in-school policing. The superintendent also said the SRO unit has provided event coverage for proms, games and graduation and that embedded SROs have helped reduce incident calls at the VISTA site since the district added a security officer earlier this year.
Board members placed the SRO agreements on the consent agenda; the consent motion that included the SRO agreements passed as part of the larger consent package.
Why this matters: the expansion increases on-site law enforcement presence in district programs serving students with higher behavioral and therapeutic needs, and the district said the budget impact for the specialized SROs will be managed through special education revenue streams rather than the general fund.
Direct costs, staffing timelines and the hiring process for the two planned SROs were described in the meeting but the transcript did not include a line-item contract or a signed intergovernmental agreement in the packet; the board approved the item on the consent agenda so formal contract execution and implementation steps were delegated to administration.
