Wake County Schools SRO survey shows strong officer and principal support, flags drill consistency and authority clarity

Christian Young, director of special operations for Wake County Schools, presented the district's 2025–26 School Resource Officer (SRO) survey results to the Safety & Security Committee, saying the program continues to receive strong internal ratings. "The 4.77 average reflects strong ratings across safety protocols, staff support, and student interactions," Young said, summarizing responses from SROs. Principals reported similarly favorable views, with a 4.56 average overall and frequent praise for SROs' mentorship and contributions to emergency planning.

Young and staff told the committee the survey identified several recurring operational gaps: uncertainty about authority during initial incident responses, inconsistent execution of emergency drills across campuses, and communication gaps between SROs and administrators. Young said the district has already begun addressing those issues through policy refinement, standardized emergency protocols and revised onboarding materials so substitute or newly assigned officers meet consistent expectations. "As soon as we identified these issues, we've already been we already addressed them," Young said. The committee asked for trend reporting and more frequent midyear updates; staff said they already collect midyear data and can present it to the board on a recurring schedule.