Oconee County boards approve SRO memorandum assigning up to 16 deputies to 12 schools

Oconee County officials on Jan. 29 approved a memorandum of understanding creating a School Resource Officer (SRO) program that the county sheriff and the school district say will place one deputy at each of the county's 12 schools supported by four command staff, for a total of up to 16 deputies.

The agreement, adopted jointly by the Oconee County Board of Commissioners and the Oconee County Board of Education, sets cost sharing at 90% for Oconee County Schools and 10% for the county government, requires monthly reimbursement, and runs through February 2026 with automatic annual renewals unless a party gives 30 days' written notice (any party may terminate with 60 days' notice).

The MOU prioritizes on-campus security and a preventative approach to school safety. Sheriff Hale, who briefed both bodies, described the program as part of a broader effort to ‘‘prevent these things from happening’’ and said deputies will receive behavioral-threat assessment training and work with school staff on prevention and resiliency. "My job as the sheriff is to secure this county," Hale said. "We're one big family."

School district staff described operational and policy elements negotiated among the sheriff,…