Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Security Contract topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board tables $615,000 SRO contract after questions about $90,000 increase and funding
Summary
The board pulled and then tabled a renewed school resource deputy contract after staff said the agreement would rise about $90,000 this year owing to a mandated SRO at the technical college and role separations; members directed the superintendent to negotiate and seek workforce funding before the July 28 meeting.
The Taylor County School Board on July 21 pulled agenda item 8.01 #6 — a schools resource deputy (SRO) program agreement — and, after an extended discussion over an approximately $90,000 increase from last year, voted to table the contract to the board’s next meeting for further negotiation and funding clarification.
Staff explained that new state requirements separating the school safety specialist role from SRO duties and a newly mandated SRO at the Big Bend Technical College accounted for most of the cost increase. "Now instead of just having six officers, we have seven," a district staff member said, and added that a promoted officer’s higher pay and a newly mandated technical-college position contributed to the higher contract total. Staff said the draft contract lists a total agreement figure of $615,000 and they are seeking to use workforce funding to offset roughly $100,000 of that burden if allowable.
Board members pressed for details about what the contract covers, whether overtime and training costs are shared, and whether the district is committing to a 12-month pay basis when students are in session for about 10 months. One member asked whether the sheriff’s office might share insurance costs; another suggested assigning a lower-ranked officer to the technical college to reduce cost. The board also discussed alternatives such as grant funding (including K–9 grant rules) and possible contract offsets that were used in prior years.
After discussion the board made a motion to table the agreement to the July 28 meeting to allow the superintendent and staff to negotiate with the sheriff’s office, seek workforce or other funding sources for the technical-college SRO, and consider contract language (including months of service and insurance share). The motion carried.
