NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson USD 308 school board recently approved a second school resource officer for the district and police chief Jeff Hooper is glad to be able to provide that resource.
"I'm really excited about that," Hooper said. "The city council first approved that as part of my budget for this budget cycle, so I was thankful for the city council, then I approached Dr. Dawn Johnson and she was able to get funding through the school board for the other half for that school resource officer. Safety of our kids is paramount. They are our future. I think you'd be naive if you're not paying attention to what's going on in the world, if you think active violence couldn't happen here."
That's why the department is changing a little bit about how it helps teachers practice what to do in 308 buildings by having all buildings do some of the same preparation.
"Up until this point, it's been left up to the individual principals whether they wanted us to come in and conduct those assessments and drills inside their schools," Hooper said. "Some of them would, some of them would not. We are working on a plan now to make that standard across the district, just like fire drills or tornado drills would be."
This training will likely happen with just staff in the school as part of professional development.
"Unfortunately, we've had enough of these active violence incidents to realize what works and what doesn't work and the chance of success and saving lives largely is dependent on the action of those teachers," Hooper said. "That's a vital piece."
Hooper said it takes a special type of officer to build the relationships with the students, but it's those relationships that help keep kids safe at school.