School board approves two-year contract to keep school resource officer but plans budget amendment

The Custer School District 16-1 board voted to approve a two-year contract with the county sheriff's department to retain a school resource officer (SRO) for the upcoming school years.

Administrators told the board they had met with county commissioners and sheriff's staff after local law-enforcement staffing losses put the district's SRO in jeopardy. "We will enter a contract with our sheriff's department for two years," one administrator said, describing a contract figure of about $65,000 per year to cover salary and the shared-cost arrangement for the 2025–26 and 2026–27 school years.

District staff said the sheriff's department will continue to provide the officer's training, vehicle and benefits; the officer would be under district supervision for scheduled school days and activities but might be pulled for county emergency needs when necessary. Administrators and board members said the arrangement represented a pragmatic compromise after prior billing and payment discrepancies and praised the deputy assigned to school duties.

Board members acknowledged a current budget line of about $45,000 for the SRO and said the approved figure requires a budget amendment to cover roughly $20,000 in additional cost; administrators said they would prepare an amendment. The board moved, seconded and approved the contract during the meeting.

Why it matters: Maintaining a full-time SRO affects school safety coverage at events and during the instructional day but also requires district budget adjustments. The contract shifts ongoing cost responsibility and triggers a formal budget-amendment process to reconcile the difference with current appropriations.

Next steps: Administration will pursue the needed budget amendment and monitor the SRO arrangement with the sheriff's department; the contract is set to run for the two school years discussed.