Information from WYSH Radio
The Oak Ridge Board of Education approved a resolution on Monday that says the board is committed to providing school resource officers at all eight of the schools that make up the system, from preschool all the way to high school.
The resolution passed last night directs Interim Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bob Smallridge to work with City Manager Mark Watson to find a way to make that happen.
There is only one full-time, dedicated school resource officer in the system, and she is stationed at Oak Ridge High School. The sticking point in the ambitious plan could be the price tag as the base salary for an SRO is just under $49,000 a year, plus $19,000 in benefits.
Each officer would also have to be equipped with a vehicle, uniforms, and weapons. The current SRO is paid for by the city, and School Board members say they will likely have to find alternative funding in order to help pay for expanding the program.
This story brought to you through an agreement between Oak Ridge Today and WYSH. See more local news headlines on the WYSH website at http://www.wyshradio.com/local_news.html.
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