BACK TO SCHOOL: Number of school resource officers in Madison increases
MADISON – When school starts back in Madison City schools on Aug. 7, there will be at least two new faces to greet the students. The number of school resource officers is increasing by two this year.
The City of Madison and Madison City Schools agreed to the addition last week. The move will put 10 SRO officers in the schools, with one supervisor.
“To say we take school safety seriously is an understatement,” MCS superintendent Robby Parker said. He added that parents can take confidence their children are safe and that the school district will continue doing “everything in our power” to keep it that way and to make improvements.
Madison Police Chief David Jernigan told city council members last Monday the agreement does not place an office in each school, but it does provide one officer per 900 students.
“We will have two at each high school (Bob Jones and James Clemens) and one in each of the middle schools (Liberty and Discovery),” Jernigan said. “That leaves four for the elementary schools. We have them split between east and west.”
MCS operates seven elementary school in Madison.
Parker said that more SROs are needed in Madison, something he has said will happen if the 12-mill property tax increase passes on Sept. 10.
The school board would pay the salary of the two officers for the time on school property (8 hours a day, 180 days) and for the mandatory state conference for SROs.
The school board agree to pay a total of $441,744.52 per school year for the SROs. This includes $420,173.52 in salaries and benefits, and $21,571 for the officers to attend the Alabama Association of School Resource Officers training conference.
The city, through the police department’s budget, will pay $36,634.55 to equip the new officers.
Madison Police’s Capt. John Stringer said the department will be sending its best officers to protect the city’s students.
“They’ve got to be the whole picture, they’ve got to be able to talk, they’ve got be able to solve problems, they’ve got to be able to plug student in need into the right resources, and they also have to be able to take decisive action if something were to happen in our schools,” he said.
