Superintendent warns City of Talent may drop school resource officer funding

During the superintendent's report, the board heard that the City of Talent budget committee signaled it might not include funding for the school resource officer (SRO) position in its preliminary budget.

"We heard that school resource officer ... was not going to be in the budget moving forward," the superintendent said, noting the district contributes significantly to the program and has drafted a letter in support. The superintendent said Ernie Whiteitman, who previously served in the district as an SRO and has trained SROs nationally, will speak at the city meeting in support of keeping the position.

The superintendent said the budget committee could rule that night or return the item to a later meeting; a follow-up meeting was scheduled for the 27th and the city council is slated to consider the adopted budget in June. District leaders said they would connect with city staff and monitor next steps.

No formal action was taken by the board during the meeting on the SRO funding; board members thanked staff for outreach with city officials and for providing written testimony from families.

Next steps: the superintendent will contact city staff to follow up and the district will track the city budget committee's decision and the city council's June action.