38 South Carolina School Districts to Receive Funding for New School Resource Officers
Staff Report From South Carolina CEO
Thursday, September 6th, 2018
Thirty-eight South Carolina school districts will be awarded funding to hire new school resource officers as part of a two million dollar proviso passed by the General Assembly in this year's budget.
"There is no issue more important than the safety and well being of our students and teachers. I appreciate the support of the General Assembly in recognizing this and taking a step in the right direction by funding new officers in those districts that have not been able to afford them. We still have a ways to go in meeting our goal for a trained law enforcement officer in every school by 2020 and I remain committing to ensuring this goal becomes a reality," said State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman.
Proviso 1.105 appropriated $2,000,000 for the purpose of hiring certified law enforcement officers to serve as a school resource officer for school districts that otherwise would lack the adequate resources to hire their own school resource officers. In making determinations, the South Carolina Department of Education was directed to use the most recent index of taxpaying ability as the district's indicator of ability to pay, with districts of the lowest index of taxpaying ability receiving priority consideration. Funding will go directly to the local law enforcement agency to pay for the cost of a full-time school resource officer. Funds cannot be used to supplant existing resources.
Over sixty school districts applied for the funding with thirty-eight selected based upon the criteria set forth by the General Assembly in the proviso.