The Arcola School Board and the Arcola City Council have begun discussions on the possibly of coming to an agreement to provide a school resource officer (SRO) in the Arcola Schools on a daily basis.
An SRO would be employed by the City of Arcola and assigned to work each day in the school building. An SRO, first and foremost, would provide increased security across the school district. But, the officer would provide many other valuable duties for the district. The SRO would deliver instruction to both staff and students on various topics on safety and security. For example, the old DARE program is an example of an educational program dealing with safety. The SRO would also work with school district staff on all aspects of the school district’s crisis plan, assist with truancy and residency issues, and provide school administration with support on significant related discipline issues.
One of the biggest advantages to an SRO program is that students at all grade levels have the opportunity to interact with law enforcement in a positive environment.
The city and district are working on the details of a memorandum of understanding that will outline the responsibilities of the city and the district in an SRO partnership. It will also outline how the SRO program will be funded.
Stay tuned for more details on the progress of this discussion.