City of Newton
NEWTON, Kan. — At Tuesday night’s meeting, the City Commission approved a revised agreement with Newton USD 373 to provide three school resource officers (SROs) to work in Newton schools.
The City Commission first considered the agreement in June and expressed some concern about the level of compensation provided by the School District, originally proposed at $35,000 per officer, or $105,000 total. City and school staff then collaborated to revise the district’s contribution to $43,000 per officer or a total of $129,000 per year.
The total annual cost for one entry-level officer is about $84,000 for salary and benefits. The SROs work primarily on-campus in the district when school is in session, while they remain City employees under the supervision of the chief of police. During summer and other school breaks, the officers work regular patrol duties for the City.
The agreement covers issues such as access to school records, information sharing, roles and restrictions for each party involved, and includes a comprehensive job description of the SROs. The term of the agreement is one year, giving the opportunity to make future changes as needed.
The SRO program in Newton began in 1998 for the purpose of reducing crime, violence, and drug abuse, and to build relationships between law enforcement and students and school staff. Both the City and School District have considered it a huge success.
The Board of Education is expected to consider the agreement at its next meeting on Aug. 14.
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