Council approves interim SRO memorandum, directs manager to reconcile MOU with school handbook

The Munising City Council voted to approve an updated memorandum of understanding extending the student resource officer (SRO) through the end of the school year and authorized the city manager to work with the police chief and the school district to revise the document and related policies.

Council members debated the limits of the MOU and how it interacts with the school handbook, including who is acting as a sworn law‑enforcement officer and how body‑camera evidence should be handled. "There's a lot of confusion about when a cop is being a cop or when a cop is not being a cop," said Commissioner (S4), who raised concerns about overlapping investigations and students' rights under the handbook and constitutional protections.

Commissioner (S5) moved to approve the MOU and to authorize the city manager to coordinate revisions with the chief of police and school district; the motion passed. "I move that we approve the student resource officer memorandum of understanding and authorize the city manager to work with the chief of police and the school district to revise it as soon as we can," Commissioner (S5) said when making the motion.

Several council members warned that reconciling the MOU with the current school handbook will require careful work. Some said doing it "right" could take longer than a month and asked staff not to rush the policy changes. Council directed staff to obtain the school handbook and asked the police chief to deliver a written policy addressing the SRO's role and body‑cam evidence handling before a future meeting.

The council recorded at least one dissent during the final vote; the motion nevertheless carried. Next steps recorded by staff include the city manager coordinating with Police Chief Peters and school district officials to produce a reconciled policy and an updated MOU for council review.