07/29/2025 Commissioners Meeting [42:15-45:18]

Leave 1500 people in a vulnerable situation. Unprotected. That's not what I was elected to do. I'm not going to make a lot of comments, but I will say this. Outside is the, I mean, it's a public safety issue. Whether or not we have an SRO, we have those. But the other issue to me is the opportunity for our students, our kids, to have an opportunity to interact with the law enforcement officer. It's not whether or not they're out there breaking up fights or dealing with drug issues or something in the school. It's the fact that the officer is there. He has an opportunity to deal one-on-one with students who may have issues that they're concerned about. And it's more than just pure safety. It is an opportunity to provide those students with a, with a chance to, to get to know a law enforcement officer. And I think that's a critical aspect of this program as well. So that's all I'm going to say about it. Man, I'll just say one more quick thing about the hiring, we know hiring during this. It is very, very hard to find someone who has had the academy and wants to be an SRO to go work for a school as opposed to law enforcement, because I want for some of you to see these are hiring. It is very difficult for Mitchell to find somebody who's very hard for spring votes, to throw on OCIS. It's having right now. It's trying to find somebody. There's just not a lot of people out there to do it. And I'm not, I have to worry about liability. And I have to work to the county, to me, to the officers, to you guys. And I'm not going to let this school hire somebody that is not an academy, no police experience. And SRO admin is a special deputy to be in charge of those kids. I want them to be well trained and prepared. So it's not, it's not as simple as saying just go hire somebody. They're not out there. Well, it's not like a dollar hose. This is our own program. My concern is just the way that the individual is being paid wherever he comes from. And I agree with you. He needs to be properly trained. But even if he took your little man to put him out there in my opinion, he needs, no one needs to put the bill. They have funding to do pretty well. Whatever they please. That's just my two cents on it. And they are fully the entire bill for the SRO part of being out. The new place.