CELINA , Ohio-City and school officials in Celina seek to extend a successful partnership that has stationed a police officer in Celina City School for three years. However, new police union agreements necessitate a significant cost increase of approximately $113,000 annually, according to Celina Police Chief Tom Wale. The current agreement sees the school district covering 75% of the officer’s compensation, sourced from federal grants.
To continue this arrangement, the school asked the city to apply for a federal COPS Hiring Program grant, covering only part of the expenses. City councilors have approved this request, aiming to ease the financial burden on the school. Discussions are ongoing to negotiate the remaining costs, with some councilors expressing support for maintaining the School Resource Officer (SRO) program. However, concerns were raised about the availability of police resources and the possibility of the school district hiring its own officers. Despite these considerations, there is general agreement on the value of having an SRO in the community.
https://dailystandard.com/archive/2024-05-29/stories/50128/to-serve-protect-schools
