Superintendent raises funding questions after RCPD request for school resource officer support

Superintendent Eric Reid told the Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 Board of Education that Riley County Police Department leadership has asked the district to fund at least part of a school resource officer (SRO) position, and he urged the board to discuss the question of paying for SROs from district funds.

Reid said the prior board had expressed the opinion that educational dollars should not be used to pay for law enforcement in schools after the Parkland shooting, but he said the current board's view may differ. He told the board the district's remaining funding options would be the general fund or the supplemental general fund and noted those funds are already constrained by mandatory transfers and special education expenses.

“Our mission is to educate, and we know protection is part of that,” Reid said. “Adding more is going to be less general funds, so it’s going to have to come out of our educational side of it.”

Reid said he had discussed with RCPD leadership a bill that would permit capital outlay funds to pay for SROs; to his knowledge the bill had not advanced out of committee, though it could be resurrected as an amendment. Board members pressed for clarification on the district's funding constraints and on whether any change could be regional — noting that USD 383 is the largest district served by RCPD and that a policy change could affect smaller neighboring districts differently.

Board members and Superintendent Reid discussed options and trade-offs but did not vote on a policy. Board member Katie said the district should remember capital outlay traditionally funds building projects such as roofs and mechanical work, not personnel, and warned that reallocating capital outlay could be inappropriate even if allowed. Board member Carla said the discussion requires coordination across taxing entities, noting that all tax dollars are ultimately shared in community budgets and that smaller districts might be disproportionately affected if RCPD funding were shifted.

Reid asked the board for feedback in coming weeks and proposed the topic as a discussion item at a future meeting rather than an immediate vote. He and board members also discussed whether a portion of SRO funding could be covered if officers were stationed primarily inside schools rather than being periodically reassigned.

Authorities mentioned during the discussion included a legislative bill (not specified by bill number) that would allow capital outlay funds to be used for SROs; no formal ordinance or statute citation was provided during the meeting. The board did not take any formal action at the meeting.