Board approves two-year SRO contracts after debate over cost disparities

The Palm Springs Unified School district board on July 8 approved two-year contracts with four law-enforcement partners to provide School Resource Officer (SRO) services at district high schools, but trustees instructed staff to seek a detailed cost breakdown and pursue renegotiation after noting large disparities between city agreements.

Director of Security and Disaster Preparedness Alex Borrego told the board the district is adopting a NASRO SRO Triad model that frames the SRO role as law teacher, law counselor and law enforcement officer. "Our goal is going to be to evolve and enhance student safety," Borrego said, describing new weekly and quarterly reporting that the district uses to track SRO interactions across those three categories.

Why it matters: The contracts fund sworn officers who work on campus and serve roles that the district described as including classroom instruction, mentorship and incident response. The board emphasized that while SROs are part of safety and response, the district also invests in wellness and mental-health services as proactive supports.

What Borrego presented: The district reported increases in recorded SRO interactions after it standardized tracking. Borrego provided program cost figures the board discussed in detail: $749,547 paid in 2024–25; a projected $823,928 in 2025–26 (a 10% increase); and a projected $869,793 in 2026–27 (a 5.6% increase). Borrego described the renewed SRO contracts as structured over two years, each year covering a 10-month August–June school year.

Board questions and requests: Trustees pressed staff for more clarity on outcomes recorded in the SRO matrix, the number of arrests tied to SRO activity and the nature of referrals to campus wellness centers. In response, Borrego said the district does not always capture an outcome for every interaction but offered to provide arrest counts and more specific outcome reporting.

Cost concerns and direction to staff: Several trustees noted substantial cost differences among the city police contracts and asked staff to seek line-item breakdowns. The board discussed Palm Springs— contract totals compared with Desert Hot Springs and other jurisdictions and asked staff to return with additional documentation and to begin negotiations with the City of Palm Springs about potential cost-sharing or adjustments.

Board action and results: The board approved the following agreements with votes recorded in the meeting minutes: agreement C000355 with the Cathedral City Police Department for Cathedral City High School and MSJ Continuation High School; agreement C0005354 with the Desert Hot Springs Police Department for Desert High School and the Edward L. Wencesloff Education Center; agreement C0005356 with the Palm Springs Police Department for Palm Springs High School and Desert Learning Academy; and agreement C0005379 with the Riverside County Sheriff—s Department for Rancho Mirage High School. The board approved all agreements and directed staff to pursue additional cost detail and renegotiation with Palm Springs PD.

What the motions said (as recorded on the agenda): each motion sought approval of the district—s two-year SRO agreement with the named law-enforcement agency for the 2025–26 and 2026–27 school years.

Implementation note: Staff said the contracts include standard termination and amendment language, including the ability for either party to terminate with 30 days— written notice and to amend by mutual consent; trustees asked staff to use those provisions if renegotiation is required.

Next step: The board requested an update on SRO negotiations and any revised contract proposals at its August 12, 2025 meeting.