Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Clear Lake Council approves MOU with KUSD to fund two full‑time school resource officers
Summary
The City Council approved a memorandum of understanding with Kenocta Unified School District to place two full‑time school resource officers in district schools; the district will pay roughly $161,000 per officer and the agreement is intended to expand safety and proactive youth engagement programs without direct cost to the city budget.
The Clear Lake City Council on Wednesday approved a memorandum of understanding with the Kenocta Unified School District to fund two full‑time school resource officers (SROs) for district campuses.
Under the MOU presented by Chief Hobbs of the Clear Lake Police Department, the school district will pay $160,992.62 for one SRO position; combined funding for both positions was described in the presentation as just under $322,000 per year. The agreement covers salary, benefits, overtime, training and vehicle usage costs; the city may recover additional overtime when other officers are used at school events. The council voted unanimously to authorize the city manager to execute the MOU.
Chief Hobbs told the council the police department currently assigns one full‑time SRO to the district and that adding a second officer would improve coverage across the district’s campuses and relieve patrol staff. "Having the SRO position allows continuity of services when one SRO is not available," Hobbs said during his presentation. He also listed expected benefits including improved response times, greater visibility on campuses and expanded opportunities for early intervention and educational programs such as anti‑bullying and drug‑resistance training.
The district’s superintendent, Dr. Becky Sloto, submitted a letter read into the record expressing “strong support” for the continued partnership and saying the SRO program had helped with student crisis intervention, safety responses and outreach. Several residents and community members spoke in favor during public comment, and a resident, Bruno Sabatier, urged clearer jurisdictional delineation between the Clear Lake Police Department and county sheriff patrols when incidents occur outside campus boundaries.
Council members made no substantive modifications to the draft MOU before voting. Vice Mayor Slotin moved approval; Council Member Wilson seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
The MOU will be executed by the city manager; no changes to the city general fund were reported as a result of the agreement. The presentation tied the SROs to proactive engagement with youth and to duties beyond law enforcement, including mentoring and participation in school events.
