Moore County board debates whether to keep its own school police or shift SROs to sheriff
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Summary
Board member Hensley urged turning Moore County Schools' school resource officers over to the sheriff's office, citing training, staffing and economies of scale; staff and several board members defended the district's in-house police and called for more funding and committee work.
Board member Hensley renewed a long-running campaign to move school resource officer responsibilities out of Moore County Schools' police and into the county sheriff's department, arguing at the Nov. 10 Board of Education meeting that the district's in-house force is "a failed experiment" that lacks the critical mass, infrastructure and recruiting reach of a sheriff's office.
"We're not asking to do something that's odd and unusual," Hensley said, arguing Moore County is one of two North Carolina districts that still operate their own school police and that 113 districts rely on sheriff or municipal-provided SROs. He told the board that the enabling statute uses the word "may," meaning the district can choose to disband the force and arrange coverage differently. Hensley urged making any retained SROs the best-paid and best-trained officers by tying higher pay to specialty certifications and monthly joint training with response teams.
Superintendent Dr. Locklear and staff pushed back, saying Moore County Schools officers meet state training requirements and receive additional SRO-specific and trauma-response training. "We reached out to our regional partners and we do have specialized training, annual in-service and simulator training," Locklear said, describing gaps in some years (staff cited gaps in 2019'2020 and 2021'2022) but stressing the district's ongoing obligations to recruit, equip and certify officers.
Chief Gooch and staff outlined the district's training suite, including rapid-deployment, stop-the-bleed, Narcan and certified SRO instruction, and described how surrounding counties mix sheriff and municipal coverage. Staff also provided salary comparisons and said recruitment is constrained by state hiring and retirement rules.
Board members split on the policy question. Dr. Dahl and other board members said retaining a dedicated Moore County Schools police department provides advantages in candidate selection, school fit and school-specific electives; Dahl urged convincing county commissioners to provide more funding rather than disbanding the force. "We need to keep our Moore County Schools police and go convince the commissioners to provide adequate funding to recruit and equip the officers we need," Dahl said.
Other members, echoing Hensley, raised the possibility that county-provided deputies could deliver fuller, more consistent coverage at lower cost. Several members said the matter should be developed further by the temporary safety committee so the board can weigh trade-offs, potential legislative changes (cadet hiring pathways) and the district's separation-allowance and pay practices.
Public speakers included SRO families and retired officers who both praised individual officers and argued opposite policy directions: one SRO spouse asked the board not to "allow the sheriff's department to come in and take over our officers," citing pay and overtime issues; another speaker cited the statute and demanded the board find a way to "hire and properly train the necessary number of SROs."
The board did not take a formal vote on shifting authority; the meeting record shows the district will continue committee work, survey SROs and convene experts (including sheriff's office representatives) to develop a recommendation for a future meeting.
Ending: The board directed further work through the temporary safety committee, scheduled follow-up meetings and asked staff to return detailed recruitment, coverage and training data for comparison and decision-making.
