Monmouth-Roseville Superintendent Ed Fletcher informs the Board of Education has given him the green light to talk with the Monmouth City Council and Monmouth Police Department on starting the process of potentially bringing a School Resource Officer into the district:
“So, we brought it up several years ago, but for several different reasons it didn’t go anywhere. I reached out to Chief Switzer if this was something that the department would be interested in and he said yes, so my next step was to talk with the School Board. It is very important for us. It is another layer of safety. It is another layer of a person, a police officer, helping us make sure that if something does happen, we are as prepared as we possibly can. I think the other side is relationships with kids. Being able to see someone that you can confide in, and I think also talking with kids about, at a lower level, stranger dangers, and at the upper level, talking to kids about internet safety, making sure what you are doing on the internet, making sure you understand your rights when it comes to that stuff. You think of K through 12, that whole continuum, there is a plethora of things that an SRO, School Resource Officer, can work with. I see no reason why we shouldn’t invite people, who can help keep our kids safe, into our building.”