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Board approves three-year SRO agreement with City of Merced after trustees press for protections on vehicle buyback
Summary
The Merced Union High School District board approved a three-year memorandum of understanding with the City of Merced to fund four school resource officers and purchase a police vehicle, after trustees questioned the cost of the vehicle and sought contract language to avoid effectively donating a car if the agreement ends early.
The Merced Union High School District board voted unanimously to approve a three-year Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Merced to fund four School Resource Officers (SROs) at Merced High, Golden Valley, El Capitan and East Campus.
Miss Johnson presented the agreement, saying the district would pay the city “an amount not to exceed $801,713.04” for operational costs across the three-year term and would reimburse the city up to $91,479.77 to purchase one police vehicle for the contract. The motion to approve passed unanimously after discussion.
Trustees pressed staff on contract terms, asking whether the district would effectively be gifting a fully outfitted police vehicle if the board ended the agreement early. “So can we put something in this so we get something back for it?” a trustee asked, citing concern that an early termination could leave the district without recourse. Trustee questions focused on buy-back percentages, comparative costs with the county sheriff, and why the vehicle was priced higher than other municipal purchases.
District staff and administration responded that the contract includes termination clauses for both parties and said they would pursue amendments or clarifications with the City of Merced. “We can evaluate services. We can get out of the contract,” Miss Johnson said, and staff later noted a 30-day notice provision for termination.
Trustees also compared costs with the sheriff’s SRO arrangements and said they would ask staff to provide more detail on the district’s past mileage-based arrangements with the sheriff to compare total cost per officer. Doctor Weimer said the Merced PD salary structure and equipment choices make direct comparisons imperfect but committed to bringing comparative cost information back to the board.
The public-comment portion of the meeting included remarks from a long-serving school liaison who had urged stronger campus safety measures; trustees and staff referenced those safety concerns during the SRO discussion.
Next steps: staff said they will attempt to negotiate clearer buy-back language or alternative terms (for example, returning the vehicle to the district or converting to a mileage model) and will report back to the board within weeks. The board voted to approve the MOU as presented and to continue negotiations on the vehicle/termination terms.
