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Tumwater officials say one SRO is covering schools while county offers backup support
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Summary
Acting Chief Carlos Quita told a joint Tumwater Council–School Board session that Officer Stauffer has maintained services since Officer Bowling’s reassignment and the department will try to staff a second school resource officer; Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders emphasized SROs are specially trained for prevention and relationship-building.
Acting Chief Carlos Quita told a joint meeting of the Tumwater City Council and Tumwater School Board on April 14 that the city’s school resource officer (SRO) program has continued to operate despite the temporary reassignment of one officer.
"Since the temporary reassignment, officer Stauffer has been delivering outstanding level of service," Carlos Quita said, adding that the department has not been notified of any calls or investigations that the SRO could not handle with patrol support.
The update came after the council paused other items to hear from police and Thurston County leadership. Quita said the department intends to refill a second SRO position when staffing allows but is confident one SRO, backed by patrol and investigators, can cover Tumwater schools in the interim.
Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders, who attended to show county support, emphasized the difference between adding patrol coverage and a formal SRO assignment. "An SRO program is very specifically built around selecting competitively the right person to be around kids," Sanders said, arguing the role focuses on prevention and relationship-building rather than only security.
Lt. Jen Cole, who runs Tumwater’s SRO program, described the local model as an educator–officer–informal-counselor framework. Board members and councilors in attendance praised the program’s preventive and counseling functions and urged continued collaboration to ensure staffing and wellness checks for officers covering multiple campuses.
Board members said a temporary memorandum of understanding meant to carry the partnership through August was drafted and discussed with city staff; they also said the district did not take formal board action that night to ratify the temporary agreement. City staff and board directors agreed the chief should follow up with the superintendent and provide council an email update about the resulting conversation.
Next steps: the chief will meet with district leadership and report back by email; the council and school board asked city staff, the sheriff and the SRO program lead to continue coordination on staffing, wellness monitoring for officers, and planning for a possible second SRO when positions can be filled.
