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Board reviews SRO agreement, security upgrades and a pilot to flag students after traumatic incidents
Summary
District staff gave a first read of a three‑year SRO intergovernmental agreement and budget, described metal‑detector and bus‑route changes, and heard a Handle With Care (Lifting Up) proposal to automatically notify trained school staff when students may have experienced qualifying traumatic events; United Way and local partners offered to fund a pilot.
Urbana School District 116 leaders used the study session to brief the board on school safety measures that include a proposed three‑year SRO intergovernmental agreement with the Urbana Police Department, plans to expand metal‑detector screening at the middle school, bus‑route changes to reduce overcrowding and a proposed pilot of an automated Handle With Care notification system.
On the SRO program, district staff reiterated that School Resource Officers are sworn Urbana Police Department personnel assigned to schools primarily to maintain a safe learning environment and to act as liaisons. "Our SROs are trained specifically to work with students and intervene only in specific high‑threat situations," a district presenter said, noting an emphasis on diversion and collaboration with administrators.
Officials presented FY26 budget estimates for the SRO program showing the district's portion of costs as approximately $410,000 for the coming year (about 75 percent of the combined cost for two officers), pending union contract outcomes. The proposal was presented as a first read for feedback, not a final vote.
Presenters and officers discussed incident data. At the middle school, Michelle Robinson reported nine police reports including threats and several fights that produced injuries; she said many of the most serious incidents occurred on MTD buses. At the high school, Officer Chad Bernett reported fewer total incidents than previous years but noted arrests, transports and confiscations including weapons and vaping devices.
To address transport‑related incidents, staff said they will ask MTD to split the busiest 'green' route so sixth graders have a dedicated bus and the district will add another route to reduce overcrowding. The district also plans to add a second daily metal‑detector point at the middle school and use clear backpacks to speed screening.
The board heard a presentation from Katie Kelly of Lifting Up (the local Handle With Care implementation). Kelly described an automated process that receives a limited data export of qualifying incident records from first responders (incident date, ID, type, location) and matches those to student addresses; when there is a match a discreet notice with student ID numbers (not incident details) is sent to a small, trained school team so staff can perform a neutral trauma‑informed check‑in. "We keep it neutral...we do not share what the incident was," Kelly said, stressing privacy safeguards and FERPA/SoPA compliance.
Board members asked about match accuracy for students with unstable or missing addresses, and about data security. Kelly said matching is address‑based and uses USPS standardization; she acknowledged higher uncertainty for highly mobile or unstably housed students but said the vendor and district would agree to data‑use agreements and training. Cory Coker and Lieutenant Cory (Urbana Police) supported the proposal as a way to improve timely school supports.
Funding for an initial pilot was discussed: United Way and a community coalition offered to cover the implementation fee (quoted at $7,997 per year for the pilot) so the district would not bear that cost this year. The agreement and privacy documents will be finalized and returned to the board for possible approval at a subsequent meeting.
No final votes were taken on the SRO agreement or the Handle With Care pilot during the study session; both items were presented for board feedback and next‑step planning.
