Undersheriff outlines SRO plans with Centreville Public Schools
CENTREVILLE – St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department appears poised to begin a five-year partnership with Centreville Public Schools.
During Tuesday’s county commission executive committee meeting, Undersheriff Jason Bingaman gave details of a potential agreement that would place a school resource officer in the two-building district.
Commissioners agreed to put the matter on the agenda for their monthly board meeting May 21, when the proposal would become official with support of the seven-member panel.
Centreville Superintendent Chad Brady raised the issue before his board of education in February and indicated his support. He stated numerous benefits a school resource officer would provide the district. Subsequently, Brady was given the green light to follow up on the concept.
Bingaman, meanwhile, said the potential contract will be reviewed and possibly fine-tuned by the county’s legal team before it is up for vote next week.
He said the value of a school-resource officer is tough to overstate.
“The fact we have a person in the building, should there be an incident that happens there – whether it’s an active-shooter situation or a tornado – whatever it is, we’ll have somebody there that’s trained to help with the safety and security of the school,” Bingaman said.
The five-year contract averages about $100,000 a year. The school resource officer would start Aug. 12 and work year-round.
Bingaman said the sheriff’s department does not make money on the contract, nor does he get any kind of incentive pay or bonus for securing a school resource officer contract.
The sheriff’s department currently has school resource officers in White Pigeon Community Schools and St. Joseph County Intermediate School District. Meanwhile, Sturgis Public Schools has an agreement with Sturgis Department of Public Safety related to the services of a school resource officer.
Bingaman said Centreville’s request comes at a good time, as the agency finally is fully staffed in its road patrol and corrections divisions.
He said afterward a member of the department has already indicated an interest in serving the role of Centreville’s school resource officer. He said an employee with experience would be the ideal candidate.
Bingaman elaborated on the duties of a school resource officer.
“They’re there in the mornings and afternoons when people are coming and going to watch for traffic issues, or if there are situations like child-custody issues,” Bingaman said. “The SRO’s job is not to handle discipline or behavior, those are situations handled in-house by school staff. Their focus is on safety and security.”
He said the presence of a school resource officer has the potential to create a situation where students and a representative from law enforcement establish a rapport under positive interactions.
It’s expected that the school resource officer will have a desk and workspace in one of the two school buildings, Bingaman said.
The sheriff’s department is in its second year of a five-year agreement with White Pigeon, while its five-year contract with the ISD is nearing the end of its first year. By and large, Bingaman said those arrangements are working out well.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Undersheriff outlines SRO plans with Centreville Public Schools
