Kentucky adds more school resource officers but some districts still need help

TAYLOR COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - Kentucky lawmakers say the state’s schools are safer than they were a few years ago, but the state has not reached its goal of placing a school resource officer in every school.

The School Safety and Resiliency Act, passed seven years ago, mandated a school resource officer in every school in the state, more than 1,000 schools.

In 2013, there were just over 240 school resource officers in Kentucky. State Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, said there are now more than 900.

“We’ve made an investment. We want to be the blueprint. We want to be the model for other states to follow,” Wise said.

Rural counties face staffing shortages

Wolfe County has just one school resource officer in partnership with the sheriff’s office.

“We have 5 schools total. So we are short of what we need. But we are constantly looking for folks,” said Nick Brooks, the superintendent with Wolfe County Schools.

Brooks said manpower is the main obstacle. Wolfe County is a rural county without a large pool of people to draw from.

“It’s also a struggle trying to find the right fit. Because an SRO is quite different from other law enforcement positions,” Brooks said.

State funding helps offset costs

Wise said the state budget recently provided a $20,000 reimbursement per school.

“That was a big game changer for school districts, to be able to do that,” Wise said.

Brooks said the funding helps, but the total cost for five officers remains high.

“If we were to employ an SRO in each of our schools, it is going to cost $100,000 to $150,000,” Brooks said.

Wise said the state will continue working with schools to make sure they are not only places of learning, but fortresses of safety.

“They want to make sure those schools are protected,” Wise said.

Wise said the mental health component needs more attention in efforts to make schools even safer in years to come.