Watertown board approves two-year school resource officer agreement after public hearing
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Summary
After a public hearing on school resource officer services, the Watertown City School District board authorized a two-year agreement with the city, citing budget predictability and continued SRO support; the contract will cover July 2026–June 30, 2028 and reflects modest cost increases.
The Watertown City School District Board of Education approved a two-year agreement with the City of Watertown to continue a school resource officer (SRO) in district schools, following a public hearing where administrators described the officer’s duties and contract costs.
Dr. Larry, speaking during the public hearing, described the district’s long relationship with the Watertown City Police Department and praised the current SRO, saying, “Our school resource officer, Jeremy Foote, that we've had in our district has done a superb job, and we're excited about his partnership.” He told the board the district currently pays $123,318 and that the proposed contract would increase to about $130,200 in the first year and $133,920 in the second year to cover salary and health-insurance increases.
A board member asked whether the district would have only one SRO under the contract; Dr. Larry replied that the district reduced SRO staffing from two to one for budget reasons and instead increased the number of district-employed School Safety Officers (SSOs), noting that SSOs — many of them retired law-enforcement officers — cover elementary sites and other duties. “We used to prior to last year, we used to have two SROs. We decided budgetarily to reduce that to one, so that we could increase the number of SSOs that we have,” he said.
Dr. Larry also outlined the typical SRO schedule, saying the officer supports the main campus from roughly 7:00 a.m. until about 2:45 p.m. and provides support at elementary schools as needed. He added that the SRO serves on the districtwide safety committee and provides training and coordination with district SSOs.
The board voted to approve the SRO agreement as presented; the motion was recorded as carried. The agreement in the transcript covers a period beginning July 2026 and expiring June 30, 2028.
The board’s action follows the public‑hearing process required for the agenda item; no formal amendment to the contract terms was recorded during the meeting. The district said the two‑year contract provides budget predictability for the 2026–27 and 2027–28 school years.
