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County launches locally taught Class 3 School Resource Officer training to recruit retirees and local candidates
Summary
Beaufort County presenters described a local Class 3 School Resource Officer training program to staff elementary schools using an eight‑week in‑county syllabus; organizers said starting pay would be about $45,000 and agencies across the county plan to participate.
County training staff and law enforcement leaders described a plan to train Class 3 School Resource Officers locally to increase staffing for elementary schools across the county.
Presenters said the Class 3 syllabus is designed to be taught in‑county over about eight weeks so recruits can remain local during training rather than attend out‑of‑county academies. The training council has reviewed an early syllabus and staff said they hope to start a first class in June so officers would be ready for deployment in August when school opens.
Why it matters: the program aims to put uniformed, armed law enforcement officers into elementary schools who will be trained specifically for the school environment. Organizers said recruiting retired military, retired teachers and other locally based candidates will expand the pool of potential SROs and align schedules with school staffing.
Key points - Local training: the Class 3 syllabus is an in‑county training option that organizers said received approval from the state training council for local delivery. - Recruitment and pay: organizers urged retired military and other local candidates to apply; presenters cited a starting pay figure of $45,000 for the position. Multiple agencies reported openings: one presenter said his office had nine openings countywide, others reported smaller numbers. - Interagency training: agencies plan to train together so new Class 3 officers across jurisdictions share a common syllabus and network.
Quotes "We would like to start our first class in June... so they can be ready for deployment when school starts in August," a training official said. "This is not a security officer — this is a law enforcement officer," one presenter added.
Next steps Presenters encouraged candidates to apply and said information would be posted on participating agencies' websites and recruitment channels; agencies intend to coordinate training and share applicants across municipal and county employers.
