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New school resource officers begin 2017-18 year
Bellefontaine City Schools staff and students headed back to school today, kicking off the 2017-18 school year. Monday evening, board of education members handled a number of routine personnel matters for the new year, along with approving raises for certified and classified staff members through financial reopeners with the Bellefontaine Education Association and the Ohio Association of Public School Employees.
Both certified and classified staff members will receive 2 percent pay raises this year per the agreements with the two organizations, effective Aug. 1.
The current contracts between the board and the BEA and the OAPSE continue through Aug. 31, 2019, and also include the option for reopening the economic package in 2018.
Superintendent Brad Hall said the negotiations with both unions went well, and they were pleased to be able to quickly come to an agreement.
Also new this school year, the district has added two additional Bellefontaine Police Department officers who will be serving as school resource officers through a $63,959.60 Ohio Attorney General’s Office drug prevention grant awarded to the police department.
Officer Doug Walters will be working at the high school building and Officer Allen Huffman will fulfill the role at the middle school. They each have completed a two-week training required to become a school resource officer.
Current DARE Officer Andy Kennedy will continue to float between the schools and offer programming at the elementary and intermediate schools, officials previously reported.
Hall noted that the officers will be engaged in a number of activities at the different school buildings, including growing professional relationships with students and staff, offering first aid and CPR courses, Good Samaritan laws education, conflict resolution, dating and domestic violence prevention and promoting school pride. They also will assist with hosting driving simulator activities at the schools.
He said the increased security is an added benefit of having the three police officers in the school buildings every day, but it is not the sole focus of this program.
“Anytime there is a uniformed officer present, there is a certain level of increased security that comes with that presence. The officers certainly will be safety and security-minded, but that is not the primary role of the officers,” he said.
Read complete story in Tuesday’s Examiner.
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