Council renews school resource officer contract after heated debate

Fayetteville City Council voted on May 26 to renew the contract covering School Resource Officers (SROs) after a sustained debate about program effectiveness and potential impacts on school discipline.

Councilmember McMillan urged the council to send the item to a work session to review empirical data from Cumberland County Schools — including disciplinary and outcome metrics — before renewing what he described as a program that "impacts our kids." He repeatedly called for transparency, accountability and a targeted analytics review.

City Manager Hewett explained the proposed contract maintains one-year renewal terms with additional options effectively extending the arrangement and clarifies that Cumberland County Schools would fund the full cost of SROs and traffic-control officers. He emphasized the agreement formalizes roles and collaborative oversight with the Office of Community Safety and school leadership.

Councilmember Greene and other supporters stressed the contract preserves on-campus safety and continuity; after multiple motions to send the contract to work session failed or died for lack of second, the Mayor Pro Tem’s motion to adopt the renewal was seconded by Councilmember Haire and carried.

The renewal includes the funding and staffing structure described by staff: one-year base term with additional options, and explicit responsibility for funding by the school system, plus commitments to coordinate with the Office of Community Safety on future review of outcomes.

Councilmembers and public speakers also urged the council to pursue data-driven follow-up (work sessions were discussed) so that the program’s effects on discipline and safety can be monitored and measured.