What to know as Pender schools plan for improved safety 'to meet that critical need'
When Pender High School received a bomb threat last April, students were ordered to leave the school for their safety, before deputies and emergency management leaders checked for any destructive devices.
Students were bussed to Malpass Corner Elementary School because of weather, while the Pender County Sheriff's Office and Pender County Emergency Management helped keep order.
For Pender County Schools it's an example of why School Resource Officers (SROs) are needed in buildings throughout the district for alarming situations. Bob Fankboner, Pender County Schools communications coordinator, said they were part of helping out that day in what could have been a very confusing situation.
"In order for learning to take place, students and staff need to feel safe at school," Fankboner said. "It's the number one thing we do as a school system, we work to provide a safe learning environment for everyone, and the SROs play a key part in that."
What are SROs?
SROs are important in helping to develop and implement safety plans in coordination with school leaders. The work also includes emergency planning such as tabletop safety exercises and training with the ALICE, an active shooter response program.
Currently, the Pender County Sheriff's Office provides two SROs at each high school, one at each middle school and deputies are rotated at the elementary school level. In Surf City, the town's local police department covers area schools.
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Expanding safety
Burgaw and Pender County recently announced a partnership to increase the presence of SROs by adding a full-time Burgaw police officer to C.F. Pope Elementary School. In February, the SRO duty for Burgaw Middle School will transition from a PCSO deputy to a Burgaw officer. According to county documents, the total first-year cost between the county and the town is $230,364.
Funding for hiring and training for PCS is provided by the School Resource Officer grant program through the North Carolina School Safety Grants Initiative. In October, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's Center for Safer Schools awarded $74 million to districts and charter schools in the state. Pender County received more than $248,000.
In a news release, State Superintendent Catherine Truitt said the funding is critical to ensuring that schools are safe for students and staff.
“School safety is a top priority for the Department of Public Instruction as it is for students, families, educators – all of us,” Truitt said. “It goes without saying that safety is an essential condition for effective teaching and learning. The Center for Safer Schools did a great job ensuring that each applicant received as much funding as possible to meet that critical need.”
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Reporter Chase Jordan can be reached at cjjordan@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Funding for officers in Pender schools to 'meet that critical need'
