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Committee forwards SRO interlocal to council after discussion over cut from five to four officers
Summary
The committee voted July 14 to forward a proposed 2026–27 school resource officer interlocal agreement to the July 21 council consent agenda after hearing that the school district asked to reduce SRO coverage from five to four and asking questions about costs, coverage and tracking.
The Parks and Recreation, Human Services and Public Safety Committee on July 14 voted to forward a proposed 2026–27 interlocal agreement to place school resource officers in local high schools to the July 21 council consent agenda.
The contract presented by Commander Brian Klingle would renew the city’s SRO program for the 2026–27 school year but reflects a change requested by the school district: staffing would fall from five officers to four. "This contract is to renew the 2026–27 school resource officer, commonly referred to as the SRO," Commander Brian Klingle told the committee, adding that the mayor supports the agreement.
Why it matters: the change affects which high schools receive a dedicated SRO and has budget implications for both the district and the city. Commander Klingle said the school district pays roughly 72–73% of an officer’s cost; he estimated a top SRO’s salary and benefits would equate to about $100,000, and that the district’s share would be about $75,000 per officer.
Committee members pressed for details about contract terms, coverage and metrics. Councilmember Lydia Zepeda Dawson asked why the district has cancellation language that the city’s draft does not and requested historical cost data; Klingle said legal review has handled the termination language and that historical payment records would be available through the city. On coverage, the committee was told the department would pull from patrol to backfill when an SRO is unavailable and that the contract allows limited training time during duty.
Several members also asked whether the department tracks outcomes tied to SRO presence. Commander Klingle said police reports capture criminal incidents, which can be counted, but that routine positive interactions are not systematically recorded and estimated those interactions could number in the hundreds per school on a typical day. He traced the program’s start to the mid-1990s and said the department maintains a five-year rotation for SRO assignments, with officers allowed to apply for extensions.
A motion to forward the interlocal agreement to the council’s July 21 consent agenda carried unanimously. The committee did not vote to adopt the agreement; forwarding places it on the full council consent calendar for final approval.
Next steps: the interlocal agreement will appear on the July 21 council consent agenda for consideration by the full council.
