The Nelson County School Board on Monday approved its proposed 2018-19 budget, which includes hiring three additional school resource officers.
The board had proposed adding three school security officers, who may or may not be armed, at its regular meeting on March 8. But board members delayed approving the vote on its budget request to the Nelson County Board of Supervisors until this week’s special meeting to allow time for the school division’s eight-person crisis and safety committee to review its proposal.
The committee recommended the school board propose to hire three additional school resource officers rather than school security officers, Shannon Irvin, assistant superintendent for administration, told the school board at the special meeting on Monday.
School board chair Dave Francis, who represents the Central District, said after the meeting the board voted for the new recommendation for several reasons, including a school resource officer has more extensive training than a school security officer.
“I think it sends a message that the board considers security in our schools to be a top priority and I think this illustrates that,” Francis said.
The division currently has one school resource officer, who primarily is based at Nelson County High School but serves the county’s four public schools. The newest proposal would base a school resource officer at Rockfish River and Tye River elementary schools and at Nelson Middle School. All would be employees of the sheriff’s office.
The additional school resource officers would cut down on travel time for the current school resource officer, Francis said.
“We pass [the proposed budget] on and see what happens,” Francis said. “We have to see what response we get from the county and state level. We feel pretty good about it.”
The sheriff’s office advised school division staff the cost per school resource officer is $100,000, which includes training, equipment and a vehicle, Irvin said.
Helping offset the $300,000 cost to hire three more SROs, the budget approved by the school board this week includes allocating to the sheriff’s office $207,132 the division had reserved for expected health insurance increases that didn’t occur.
The county would have to help make up that difference, which is about $92,870, Irvin said.
The proposed budget requests the county and the school division both contribute to the salary, equipment and training costs for the additional school resource officers.
School board member Janet Turner-Giles, who represents the North District, asked during the special meeting if school division can apply for grants to possibly help with the costs of hiring school resource officers. Irvin said the school division would look into applying.
Staff also proposed the division revive in the 2018-19 school year an in-school suspension position and behavior interventionist position, which is estimated to cost the school division about $33,269 and $73,486, respectively, according to the March 8 school board meeting agenda.
Irvin told the board she is set to send the approved budget to the county’s board of supervisors this week for consideration. The budget requests level funding from the county. The school division’s total proposed budget is $27.96 million, Irvin said.
Irvin said the proposed budget still includes a 2 percent cost of living increase for school employees and increases for eligible employees on the step pay scale, which counts one step as one year of experience. Although increasing one step will increase some teachers’ salaries, Irvin said about half of teachers could see an increase in salary due to the proposed one-step bump.