Okemos Public Schools considers hiring school resource officer

MERIDIAN TWP. — Okemos Public Schools has been approved for $200,000 in state funding should district leaders choose to hire a school resource officer − a decision they continue to consider.

The district has never had a school resource officer, according to Okemos Public Schools Board of Education President Mary Gebara, but officials thought it was their responsibility to at least apply for the grant and consider the option.

Then school safety became a more pressing issue in Okemos, East Lansing and surrounding schools. A series of fights and misconduct drew hundreds of East Lansing students, parents and community members to school board meetings to share their concerns this year. That same month, Okemos High School experienced a shooting hoax and a lone gunman visited MSU's campus on Feb. 13, killing three students and critically injuring five more.

Surveys have been sent out to high school students to weigh their interest in bringing a school resource officer to the district and officials are waiting for additional feedback. Gebara said families and community members can share their thoughts at a listening session on April 11.

Discussions were underway before the false report of a shooting on Feb. 7 led to an evacuation of Okemos High School and that drew dozens of police officers, FBI agents and other emergency responders.

“The swatting incident made the need for more security more prevalent,” Gebara said. “We have so many different layers of security in the district that we’re continually trying to improve on.”

Okemos Public Schools Superintendent John Hood did not return calls and emails requesting comment.

If the district does decide to hire a school resource officer, that person would come from the Meridian Township Police Department.

The township Board of Trustees would ultimately vote and decide whether to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Okemos schools and approve the hiring of another officer who would replace the officer who would be selected to become the district's school resource officer, according to Meridian Township Police Chief Ken Plaga.

The state grant would pay up to half of a full-time officer's salary for three years, according to Gebara, while the school district would pay for the other half.

Plaga said having a school resource officer is advantageous to schools.

"A police officer would be dedicated to making sure they’re on-site, kids are safe, best practices are being followed," Plaga said. "They’re there to provide advice to the district on safety protocols and practices. They’re there to assist with emergency planning. They build a better relationship and rapport with students."

The township provides a school resource officer for Haslett Public Schools. That officer works in a dual role for the district and for the police department, according to Haslett Superintendent Steven Cook. His district also received a $200,000 school resource officer grant which will allow the district to make its school resource officer fully dedicated to the district, Cook said.

Other mid-Michigan school districts also received state funding for school resource officers, including Leslie Public Schools with $56,500, Mason Public Schools with $146,791, Potterville Public Schools with $103,349, Waverly Community Schools with $200,000 and Williamston Community Schools with $81,900, according to a Michigan State Police Office of School Safety award list.

Employing school resource officers has become a contentious decision as some fear the presence of police officers in schools could escalate situations rather than defuse them. Others fear that minority or economically disadvantaged students could be unfairly targeted. Some parents have voiced support for bringing officers into schools to help prevent more shooting tragedies.

East Lansing Public Schools once employed a school resource officer for the district who shared time across all of the buildings years ago. The funds that paid for the position were "repurposed," according to Superintendent Dori Leyko, to instead provide personnel who could help monitor hallways and support students and families. The district is considering bringing officers back to the school.

“We don’t want any student to feel targeted or isolated or threatened or even uncomfortable,” Gebara said. “We want to make sure that whoever this person is, if we have a school resource officer, are Okemized, everyone feels comfortable around this person, they understand this is not someone here to do anything but add security and comfort to our schools and not hinder learning opportunities for anyone.”

Contact Mark Johnson at majohnson2@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson.