Council delays approval of SRO 28E agreement, votes to seek explanations from school district

The Anamosa City Council declined to approve a proposed 28E agreement with the Anamosa Community School District for a school resource officer (SRO) and instead voted to ask the district for explanations of late wording changes.

Councilmember Brooke moved to approve the version provided that evening; the motion failed for lack of a majority after several members expressed concern about language the school had inserted covering defense and termination notices. One councilmember warned that requiring both parties to retain separate attorneys could be “very detrimental” to the city and the school, arguing it would be preferable for the at-fault party to retain counsel. Steve Langmich, speaking on city matters, said the city attorney had adequate time to review the draft but that the removal of the word “defend” from the indemnification language was “unusual.”

After the initial motion failed, Councilmember Rich made a new motion, seconded by Kaye Smith, directing staff to seek clarification from the Anamosa School District about the requested changes to the 28E draft. That motion carried on a roll call vote with five favorable votes; the council recorded that approval of the clarification motion does not itself finalize the SRO position. As the chair summarized, any final city commitment would come later when both parties approve the 28E agreement.

Next steps: city staff will follow up with the school district to obtain explanations of the contractual changes and return to council with that information. No personnel or funding decision for the SRO was finalized at this meeting.