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Committee invites Officer Roesler to present school opioid-prevention curriculum; questions raised about paying officer time
Summary
The committee agreed May 13 to invite Officer Roesler to explain a proposed K–12 "Hope Curriculum" pilot for Westby Area Schools, and discussed whether settlement funds could pay for the officer’s time. The committee asked for a detailed expense breakdown and clarified that grant payments to offset patrol duties must be directed to the officer if allowable.
Steve Micheals, Westby Area Schools superintendent and committee member, described a proposal from Officer Roesler to bring a K–12 "Hope Curriculum" from Bright State University to Vernon County schools. Micheals said the program is circular in nature and that Officer Roesler intends to protect family privacy by using only out-of-state case photos when illustrating content.
Members discussed whether the committee could support paying the officer’s hours and how payment would have to be structured. Cassandra Hanan noted that paying an officer’s time may not be an allowable expense as a county grant and that, if grant funds could support the work, payment would need to be directed to Officer Roesler for prevention work time rather than routed through the school to offset patrol hours.
Sheriff Roy Torgerson, who joined the meeting via Teams, said the department would 'love' for Officer Roesler to work full time as a school resource officer but that Roesler must remain on patrol at this time. Dr. Duane Koons asked for clarification on the officer’s potential tasks and requested a further breakdown of expense items. The committee voted to invite Officer Roesler to the next meeting to present details; Steve Micheals recused himself from that vote. Kristina Reser-Jaynes seconded Dr. Koons’s motion and it passed unanimously.
Why it matters: The proposal could affect how prevention programming is delivered in Westby-area schools and whether settlement funds are used to compensate law enforcement time devoted to prevention work. Committee members asked for clearer budget items and for Officer Roesler to describe roles and time commitments before authorizing any payment.
Next steps: Officer Roesler is to be invited to a future meeting to present a detailed scope of work and a line-item budget explaining how his time would be allocated and, if requested, how compensation would be paid. The committee will not commit funds until members review the officer’s presentation and budget.
