Committee approves 50/50 school resource officer agreement with Keeland CUSD 302

The Kane County Judicial & Public Safety Committee on June 11 approved an intergovernmental agreement to provide a school resource officer (SRO) to Keeland Community Unit School District 302.

Under Sheriff Johnson said the two SROs currently operating are paid through 50/50 agreements with the districts (the county pays half and the district pays half while school is in session). "We have two school resource officers, one for Keeland, one for Burlington. And both of those, it is a 50/50 agreement between both school districts," Johnson said.

Members asked why the county shares the cost rather than requiring the district to pay the full expense and raised safeguards about potential escalation when law enforcement is present at schools. Johnson and committee members said contractual parameters limit law-enforcement actions on campus and that SROs act as mentors and a last resort for arrests, with school administrators and statutes defining the scope of enforcement.

The committee discussed possible expansion of SRO coverage to other unincorporated districts (roughly five additional districts were mentioned as potential candidates) and noted that agreements vary by district.

Vote: The committee approved the Keeland SRO IGA on a roll-call vote and forwarded the item to the executive committee.