Stoughton board considers intergovernmental agreement to assign a Student Resource Officer

The Stoughton Area School District Board of Education on an evening meeting discussed a draft intergovernmental agreement with the City of Stoughton and Stoughton Police Department to assign a Student Resource Officer (SRO) to district schools.

The discussion focused on the SRO’s duties, training, selection and supervision, metrics and reporting, funding and timeline. Mayor Tim Swatley and Chief Dan Jenks joined district staff to explain the draft three-part package: an intergovernmental agreement, an SRO assignment description and a model policy drawn from Neola. No final vote was taken; the board will consider the draft agreement at its June 2 meeting and would treat the policy as a separate action item.

Board members asked for clearer training commitments, baseline metrics and protections for students with disabilities. Chief Dan Jenks said the city and department expect a 50/50 cost split and provided an annual cost estimate: “Well, so under our current contract, the costs for a officer annually with full benefits ... $130,000 annually,” which the chief said would imply roughly a $65,000 annual share for the district if the split is applied.

The draft agreement that district staff circulated would: 1) define the SRO as an assigned police officer (the agreement uses the phrasing student/staff resource officer), 2) set the initial agreement term at three…