York Suburban moves toward contract for school resource officer with York County Regional Police

York Suburban School District administrators said they expect to present a contract in April to hire a school resource officer through the York County Regional Police Department after a March 11 presentation to the board on the department’s SRO program.

The district invited Chief Timothy Damon and Corporal Christopher Boyce of the York County Regional Police Department to describe the SRO program the department has run in several area districts since 2002, the training its officers undergo and how an SRO would operate if contracted by York Suburban.

The presentation laid out program elements the department said are already in place in other districts: NASRO-certified SROs and periodic advanced training, crisis-intervention team training, CPR/first-aid certification and naloxone carrying, K-9 capabilities for narcotics and electronic detection, and a department mental-health professional on call. The police representatives described routine SRO duties as “hallway security,” lunch and dismissal monitoring, door checks and classroom guest speaking; they noted, “We do not discipline, we do not suspend students, we do not expel students,” reserving student discipline to school administrators unless a criminal offense occurs in the officer’s presence (Corporal Christopher Boyce).

Superintendent Dr. Krausser told the board she "actually have[s] the contract already in hand" and expects the district to move toward contract approval in April. She and the chief said the district will sign two documents: a standard memorandum of understanding (MOU) that follows a state template and a contract for services covering the SRO’s assignment and cost.

Board members pressed officials for measurable standards and reporting. Director James Sanders told the administration he was "requesting that you have specific measurables in the agreements before we actually execute that agreement," and asked how the department measures effectiveness. Corporal Boyce and Chief Damon described qualitative measures—student relationships with SROs and diversionary practices for juveniles—but acknowledged quantitative reporting is done through coded entries in their records system. Boyce said the department codes youth diversion actions (examples given: “YAP” or “YDP”) so the department can produce annual counts of students referred to diversion programs. Superintendent Krausser said she will include SRO-related baseline disciplinary statistics and school-climate survey metrics in her annual safe-schools report to the board, and that the district will report back after the first year in June 2026.

Jurisdiction and coordination were discussed. Board members asked how an SRO assigned to a building will work when students live in other municipal jurisdictions; the presenters said state law permits SRO deployment in school buildings even where local patrol jurisdiction differs, and the department already maintains MOUs and working relationships with neighboring municipal police agencies to coordinate cross-jurisdiction issues.

Board members also asked whether the district had considered private security. Superintendent Krausser said the district had not pursued private vendors because of local practice and concerns about continuity and legal authority; Chief Damon and staff said private security typically lacks the enforcement tools and interagency relationships of a police SRO.

No formal vote was taken March 11. Administrators presented the MOU and contract timeline and said both documents will come to the board for approval: the MOU on a regular two‑year reauthorization cycle and the services contract expected in April.

Why it matters: Pennsylvania’s recent legislative changes requiring armed security in schools and district waiver timelines were cited in the discussion; the board and administration must choose a service delivery method, define measurable outcomes and identify who will pay for and oversee school safety staffing.

Provenance: The district’s intent to pursue a York County Regional contract and the program presentation began when Dr. Krausser introduced the York County Regional guests and ended with board Q&A about metrics and the MOU/contract timeline (meeting transcript segments dated March 11).