Hillsboro board approves district-run school safety program with armed officers

The Hillsboro R-III Board on Tuesday approved a new district-run school safety program that will add four school safety officers and one director of school safety, station an SRO at the high school and increase daily armed coverage in each building.

Administrators presented the plan as a shift from a mixture of district security staff and contracted SROs to a district-managed model. The proposal calls for hiring active or recently retired police officers who hold POST certification; they will be district employees, will provide their own service weapon (subject to district approval) and will be stationed in individual buildings so an armed officer is present each school day.

The administration said the plan would retain one Hillsboro SRO contract (with daily-rate scheduling so the officer is not full-year assigned), while adding four 185-day positions and a full-year director position who will manage schedules and district safety coordination. The board heard an administration estimate that the change would increase net district costs by about $155,000 compared with the prior mix of staffing and contracts; details were presented in the budget materials and during the discussion.

Board discussion referenced a recent May incident involving a student with a weapon as reinforcing the timing of the proposal. Trustees also discussed possible future purchases of metal-detection or bag-screening equipment for certain events or entrances; administration said additional procurement for screening technology would be considered at a later meeting.

The proposal passed on a voice vote. The board instructed administration to proceed with hiring and to return with implementation details such as job descriptions, schedules and cost specifics.

What happens next: administration will begin recruitment for the posted positions, develop a handbook and scheduling structure, and return updates to the board on hires and program costs.