School Board approves Safety Resource Officers through 2024

PALMER — The Mat-Su Borough School District school board unanimously approved two action items at their meeting on Wednesday to approve a Memorandum of Agreement with the Wasilla Police Department and Palmer Police Department to employ four School Resource Officers through 2024. The first MOA with WPD was signed in 2016 and SRO’s have since been added at Houston, Colony, and the Palmer High School campuses.

“If we were to do any of this in house is our general liability insurance would see a significant increase in cost. So it’s not as though we could do this in house at no cost as compared with the fiscal note listed here,” said Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Luke Fulp.

The contract dictates that the school district is responsible for 75 percent of the amount not to exceed $150,000. Fulp added that the first year SRO’s are paid $140,000, of which 75 percent is $105,000. Wasilla High School was the first to get a SRO.

“Adding the SRO was probably one of the better things that occurred at our specific school wehn Wasilla did get a city police department. Having the accessibility of law enforcement, there were times, intense times where these individuals had to be their police officer. They had to do what they are trained to do,” said School Board member Dwight Probasco. “I believe lifelong bonds are formed between our students and those uniformed police officers in our school.”

Board Member Sarah Welton asked for clarification in what SRO’s do for students other than serving as armed protectors.

“They’re primarily there to prevent anything from happening by setting up communication with parents and families, getting resources in parents and kids hands that they need. So when I’ve watched resource officers be at their most effective, they take on a counseling role as much as anything,” said Superintendent Randy Trani. “Talking with law enforcement officials, they see the benefit in it because those relationships carry forward when those students are adults and in the community so I think that they really appreciate that.”

The WPD provides officers at the Wasilla and Colony campuses that monitor both the middle and high schools as well as in Houston. The PPD provides the SRO for Palmer High.

“The police officers will work to be there for them and I’ve seen situations where they’ve been able to talk them down out of bad places and I think it’s a really good thing that we have done,” said Welton.

Both action items passed unanimously.

PALMER — The Mat-Su Borough School District school board unanimously approved two action items at their meeting on Wednesday to approve a Memorandum of Agreement with the Wasilla Police Department and Palmer Police Department to employ four School Resource Officers through 2024. The first MOA with WPD was signed in 2016 and SRO’s have since been added at Houston, Colony, and the Palmer High School campuses.

“If we were to do any of this in house is our general liability insurance would see a significant increase in cost. So it’s not as though we could do this in house at no cost as compared with the fiscal note listed here,” said Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Luke Fulp.

The contract dictates that the school district is responsible for 75 percent of the amount not to exceed $150,000. Fulp added that the first year SRO’s are paid $140,000, of which 75 percent is $105,000. Wasilla High School was the first to get a SRO.

“Adding the SRO was probably one of the better things that occurred at our specific school wehn Wasilla did get a city police department. Having the accessibility of law enforcement, there were times, intense times where these individuals had to be their police officer. They had to do what they are trained to do,” said School Board member Dwight Probasco. “I believe lifelong bonds are formed between our students and those uniformed police officers in our school.”

Board Member Sarah Welton asked for clarification in what SRO’s do for students other than serving as armed protectors.

“They’re primarily there to prevent anything from happening by setting up communication with parents and families, getting resources in parents and kids hands that they need. So when I’ve watched resource officers be at their most effective, they take on a counseling role as much as anything,” said Superintendent Randy Trani. “Talking with law enforcement officials, they see the benefit in it because those relationships carry forward when those students are adults and in the community so I think that they really appreciate that.”

The WPD provides officers at the Wasilla and Colony campuses that monitor both the middle and high schools as well as in Houston. The PPD provides the SRO for Palmer High.

“The police officers will work to be there for them and I’ve seen situations where they’ve been able to talk them down out of bad places and I think it’s a really good thing that we have done,” said Welton.

Both action items passed unanimously.