Michigan school districts express relief, excitement about resource officer funding

Karly Graham, The Petoskey News-Review
·4 min read
Schools that have lower enrollment, less funding per student, or don't already have an SRO were given priority for their share of $25 million in SRO grant funding.
Schools that have lower enrollment, less funding per student, or don't already have an SRO were given priority for their share of $25 million in SRO grant funding.

This week, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a program that will award 195 school districts funding to bring in school resource officers.

A total of $25 million will be split amongst the districts. The money is specifically meant to pay for 50 percent of an SROs wages, benefits and trainings for three years.

More:Public Schools of Petoskey to have full-time SRO in district

Schools that have lower enrollment, less funding per student, or don't already have an SRO were given priority.

Public Schools of Petoskey is receiving $104,250. The district and city both approved the hiring of Ben Carlson as an SRO back in December, planning to split the costs.

“I've had school resource officers in my previous districts, and I know just what a blessing it can be to the schools and for the community, so I was just excited for us to have that funding source here now,” said Petoskey Superintendent Jeff Leslie.

“I think my first reaction was relief," he said about the grant. "It was really good news."

More:School resource officers across the state are shifting from DARE to TEAM: Here's what that means

In Allegan County, Hamilton Community Schools and Fennville Public Schools were among those chosen as grant recipients. Hamilton’s grant is $161,750, while Fennville’s grant is $158,443.

With the grant secured, Fennville will begin the hiring process of an SRO. Superintendent Jim Greydanus said, to his knowledge, the district hasn't ever had one. Like Leslie, prior to coming to Fennville, Greydanus had experience working with an SRO.

“The benefits I saw there were the relationships he built with our students, being around campus all the time, getting to know the students,” he said. “Kids would share with him if there were safety concerns. Most of the work became prevention of problems, but if there was an emergency, a medical situation or safety concerns, he was there to help respond.”

Fennville’s SRO will serve the entire district, which is centralized on one campus. Greydanus said the hope is to have an officer in place by July or August.

Hamilton recently hired its first ever school resource officer Joe Knapp, a longtime deputy with the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office. He began in the role Dec. 1.

Hamilton Superintendent Brad Lusk said in November the district would utilize state grant funds to establish the position. He also said hiring an SRO was “an opportunity to bring in somebody to provide that safety and security” for the schools.

In Otsego County, Gaylord Community Schools and Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools were both selected for funding. Gaylord will be getting $141,513 and Johannesburg-Lewiston will be getting $141,626.

Gaylord Superintendent Jim Cracraft wrote in a statement the district is currently fine-tuning safety and security protocols while engaging in a school safety audit. He also said the district regularly meets with local law enforcement agencies and first responders.

“The Gaylord Community Schools is very appreciative of receiving the SRO grant to allow for additional SRO coverage for our district,” Cracraft wrote. “Currently, Gaylord schools enjoys an outstanding relationship with local law enforcement and having additional support at our school site will help to provide additional security.”

Charlevoix County’s East Jordan Public Schools’ grant was for $55,437. Charlevoix County provided an SRO to five districts within county lines, but Superintendent Matt Stevenson said having the opportunity to have their own SRO will be good for the school.

“It's really a great opportunity for schools like ours to bring a full-time school resource officer in the district and really help on a lot of different levels,” he said.

Stevenson said the district had “been really working hard on trying to secure an SRO for ourselves over the last couple of years, and this funding is really going to help make that dream a reality.”

Stevenson said the goal is to have the job posting up this week.

Down in Coldwater Community Schools, funding will be used to bring on a second school resource officer. Officer Robin Swartz has worked for the district since 2020. With the new grant, a second officer will join her at Legg Middle School.

"We (won't) have to share an officer now, or jockey for priority when an officer is needed at both schools," said Legg Principal Julie Slusher.

Besides dealing with illegal substances, tobacco, vaping and drugs, “It allows us to educate the students ... about online safety, cyberbullying.”

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St. Joseph County also saw a payout, with Colon Community Schools receiving $91,329, White Pigeon Community Schools receiving $110,000 and Pathfinder Educational Center receiving $185,000.

Click here for a full list of schools.

Reporters Mitchell Boatman and Donald Reid contributed to the reporting of this article.

— Reporters Mitchell Boatman and Donald Reid contributed to this article. Contact education reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Michigan school districts express relief, excitement about resource officer funding