County leaders outline Class 3 School Resource Officer program to recruit locally and staff elementary schools

A county law-enforcement leader outlined a locally delivered Class 3 School Resource Officer (SRO) training program intended to expand coverage in Beaufort County schools and attract retired military, retired teachers and other candidates.

The leader described the Class 3 designation as a locally-delivered training track that would take roughly eight weeks (rather than Class 1 training held in Columbia) and allow recruits to remain home during training. "We would train them here in Beaufort County...It would be 8 weeks, maybe a little more than 8 weeks of training," the official said. He said the goal is to start a first class in June so recruits are ready for deployment when school starts in August.

The program is pitched as a pathway to staff elementary schools in particular. Supporters noted the program would pay approximately $45,000 starting pay for those officers, include retirement benefits and provide a schedule aligned to the school calendar. One municipal partner said the program "is gonna attract people to these positions, and it's gonna provide more of a security blanket for our schools to include our elementary schools."

Participants from county law enforcement partners described how shared training would create a network across jurisdictions and allow agencies to rely on each other for advice and support once officers are assigned. The leaders asked staff to post program information on municipal and sheriff’s office web pages and to begin accepting applications.

No formal action or vote was recorded; the discussion centered on recruitment, training logistics and interagency coordination.