An Alternative to Cutting the Countywide School Resource Officer Program Would Shrink its Staff to 6

A new proposal could save the county-wide School Resource Officer program from elimination by reducing the number of officers in the county's public high schools.

The proposal, which would shrink the number of officers from nine to six, is on the agenda for the Montgomery County Council's work session today.

The staff reduction is an alternative to eliminating the entire program —  its fate under County Executive Isiah Leggett’s proposed operating budget. 

Leggett seeks to get the budget approved by the council for fiscal 2012.

The School Resource Officer program started in 2003 with 32 officers under a $4 million grant. Officer Russ Larson, the SRO liaison for the Germantown region, said he views his job as an extension of community policing.

“It's not just the bad kids,” Larson said, “It's getting to know all the kids because every kid has the potential to be influenced in a positive way.”

The program has since been cut back to nine officers, who spread their time among the county’s 24 high schools; Larson is assigned to five: Seneca Valley, Northwest, Clarksburg, Poolesville and Damascus.

“Considering everything's changed this year, the biggest thing is trying to build relationships, building relationships with the administration, building relationships with security, with parents, with students,” Larson said. “That's a challenge because the time's not there to really feed that relationship on a consistent basis.”

Leggett has said the county could save about $1 million a year by halting the program. Each School Resource Officer costs the county $116,675, according to Montgomery County police. The costs include salary, retirement and health benefits and support staff.

According to records prepared by county legislative analysts, six officers would cost around $1 million, which is less than the projected $1.5 million it would cost to maintain nine. 

Seneca Valley High School principal Marc Cohen said he doesn’t want to see the SRO program go.

“These officers have served a tremendous role in our schools, not just as law enforcement officials but also as counselors and educators,” Cohen told Patch. “Our students have come to know and trust the SROs and that has been a big help in preventing serious incidents before they occur.”

The proposal to cut the SRO program was unpopular among many parents in Germantown. In prior interviews with Patch, Montgomery County Parent Teacher Association leaders have said they wanted to see the number of School Resource Officers to remain at nine, though the preference would be to have an officer at each school.

“Where else are you going to get that much direct contact with the citizens of our county on a daily basis? Talk about bang for your buck,” said Susan Burkinshaw, co-chair of the health and safety committee for the Montgomery County PTA and chair of Northwest High School PTA’s safety committee.

Burkinshaw is also the PTA delegate for Northwest.

“These are critical public safety components,” Burkinshaw said. “If you can stop something from coming out of the high school into the community it’s more than just a school issue.”