Public Safety Committee approves $5,000 for Kingsburg school safety outreach

The Kingsburg Public Safety Committee voted Feb. 11 to allocate $5,000 for school safety outreach materials, including bicycle helmets, first-aid ‘slider’ guides, informational pamphlets and child-focused coloring books to distribute at upcoming school safety days, a district 5K, the Swedish Festival and other community events.

The committee’s action came after a presentation by school district staff and Officer Jimenez, the district’s school resource officer, who described frequent student bicycle and scooter safety problems and said outreach items would provide a “quick reference” for students and families. “I am Officer Jimenez. I'm the school resource officer for the elementary, charter school district,” he told the committee, and described common violations he sees: “They gotta go with the flow of traffic. They gotta have reflectors. They gotta have proper fitting helmets.”

The request, presented by Linda from the school district with assistance from Chris, proposed a budget and catalog items for purchase. Linda described the outreach plan and said the district plans to hand out materials at five school safety days, the district 5K (March 29) and other events in April and later. She told the committee the district lacks funds to provide take-home items for students and that partnering with the police and fire departments helps reinforce safety messaging.

Chief Roberts, the department’s new police chief, supported buying more durable, logo-branded items so children will keep and reuse them. “If you get the closest you can to that famous water bottle and you put their logo on the side of it, and you put the number that says 911 … it's something they're gonna carry around,” Roberts said, urging purchases that increase long-term visibility of the safety message.

Committee members asked about timing and logistics for ordering. Staff said vendors could deliver items in time for the March events. The committee chair noted the committee receives $10,000 a year for discretionary public-safety outreach and that unused funds typically lapse at fiscal year-end in July.

Motion and vote: a committee member moved to allocate $5,000 and another committee member seconded; the chair called the question and the motion passed by voice vote. (Mover and seconder not specified on the record.)

The funds will be used to buy the items listed in the district’s proposal—helmets, first-aid slider pamphlets, bike and scooter safety materials, vaping/internet-safety pamphlets and coloring books aimed at elementary students—and to distribute them at the scheduled outreach events. Staff said they may return at the committee’s May meeting if they request additional funds later in the fiscal year.

The committee adjourned after taking the funding action and hearing a short report about a sidewalk concern on Kern Street to be referred to public works.