Camdenton board approves MOUs for student mental-health services and SRO agreements with city and county

The Camdenton R-III Board approved two separate sets of memoranda of understanding and agreements aimed at student support and campus safety during its April 13 meeting.

Behavior and Mental-Health MOUs: Board members reviewed MOUs with Central Ozarks Medical Center (COMC) and Kids Harbor to continue partnerships that provide behavior and mental-health services in district schools. Staff said legal counsel reviewed and suggested revisions (noted in blue in the documents) to clarify responsibilities, protect student privacy and confidentiality, and set parties’ obligations. District counseling director Corey Nushi was present to field questions. A motion to enter into the MOUs as presented passed.

School Resource Officer agreements: The board also reviewed updated MOUs for School Resource Officers, which cover four city SROs on the main campus and one county SRO for each extended building. District staff and legal counsel met with the city and the county sheriff’s office to walk through revisions (edits in ‘‘purple/red’’ in the packet). The updated language clarifies reporting requirements for certain offenses (discussion centered on reporting third-degree assault and whether lesser categories apply) and each party’s responsibilities. The board recorded the agreement continues the SRO presence and noted a total annual cost increase of $6,944.38 for the coming year (total SRO expense figures reported in the packet as roughly $339,832 for the year, up from about $332,159 last year). A motion to continue the SRO agreements with the City and Camden County passed.

Board members asked staff to verify statutory reporting categories referenced in the SRO documents and to confirm the final MOU language with legal counsel and law-enforcement partners. The MOUs will be finalized with the parties’ signatures and retained in district records.

Next steps: Staff indicated they will finalize the documents incorporating legal edits and distribute executed MOUs; board asked staff to ensure each building’s SRO coverage matches projected reorganization of grades.