Cumberland Sheriff won't provide school resource officers, crossing guards to several schools starting July 1

WRAL News on Wednesday learned the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office will no longer provide school resource officers (SROs) to several public schools in the county.

According to a letter sent to Hope Mills Police Department by Cumberland County Sheriff Ennis Wright, the sheriff’s office will no longer assign school crossing guards or deputies as SROs to schools in city limits and several other schools in the county.

The sheriff’s office said they will be assigning deputies only to schools located within the unincorporated areas of Cumberland County.

The sheriff's office said the change would be effective on July 1.

The Cumberland County School Board was provided with information about the change on Thursday.

The sheriff's office currently provides 34 SROs and 98 crossing guards. Once they pull out, Cumberland County Schools will need to fill 18 SRO positions and 31 crossing guard positions that are vacant.

The Hope Mills Police Department said several towns in Cumberland County, including Hope Mills and Spring Lake, will have to assume responsibilities at schools in their jurisdictions.

“This step was necessary because the sheriff’s office is short-staffed and had to eliminate certain assignments so they can have enough deputies to cover calls for service,” Police Chief Stephen Dollinger said in a letter to the Hope Mills town manager.

Dollinger said while he understands why the sheriff’s office had to make the decision, it will cause more strains on police officers.

“It inevitably places the responsibility of answering calls for service, providing security and arranging for the safe crossing of students on our department,” he said.

Dollinger said school administrations, students, staff and parents have grown accustomed to SROs and crossing guards assigned to their schools by the sheriff’s office and removing them would cause public outcry.

Additionally, Dollinger said the decision would create several other issues, including:

• The additional funding needed to hire and pay officers to work as SROs and crossing guards, and related expenses such as uniforms, vehicles and equipment.
• Pulling officers off patrols to handle school fights despite service calls increasing.
• Adding further strain on already short-staffed police departments.

According to a presentation from Cumberland County Schools, the district would consider looking to outside security services to provide SROs and crossing guards. Dollinger said there will be more steps once the schools decide where to get security from.

"The decision to enter into an agreement with the [Board of Education} would be that of the mayor, the Board of Commissioners and the town manager," he said. "They would have to be the ones to have to make that decision openly,"

Wright said he will hold a meeting with other police departments on Thursday, Jun 6, at 2:30 p.m. at the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office to discuss the decision.

WRAL News reached out to the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office, which provided the following statement:

"We are aware that a letter from Sheriff Ennis W. Wright to Chief Kemberle Braden is currently being shared on social media. This letter pertains to a meeting scheduled for June 6, 2024, where changes to School Resource and Traffic Control Officers will be discussed. The meeting is not open to the public, where sensitive security and safety issues will be an important component. To the extent possible, a formal statement will be issued subsequent to the meeting."

Both Dollinger and Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden are expected to attend, along with leaders from Cumberland County Schools.

You can read the Cumberland County Schools' presentation of the changes here.