“Matt Dorcy has my full endorsement for the Griffin School Board. As a member of the Steamboat Community for many years, a Fire Commissioner for the Griffin Fire Department, and a member of law enforcement for decades, I appreciate Matt’s commitment to safety for our kids and community as a whole. I believe he will be a great addition to the board and provide a measured and balanced approach to assure Griffin’s continued success.”
School Safety
School safety is very important. I’ve recently had great meetings with Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders and Undersheriff Dave Pearsall, and Mason County Sheriff Ryan Spurling and Deputy Matthew Colbenson who is the SRO at Pioneer School District, to learn more about school safety and the SRO (School Resource Officer) program. I also met with the Elementary and Middle School Principals, and the Finance Director at Griffin School to understand what a comprehensive safety program should look like at Griffin School and how it can be funded.
Though I would personally support an SRO program at Griffin, I recognize it comes at a significant cost to the district. The School Board and Superintendent would need to be prepared to bring a minimum 5-year SRO contract proposal to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office to make it financially feasible for TCSO to invest in recruiting, staffing, and providing the required SRO training. Depending on how the three-way contract between TCSO, Thurston County, and Griffin School District is negotiated, it could cost the district anywhere from $80k - $100k annually. When making important business decisions, it is critical to evaluate the risk versus reward to ensure long term sustainability of the program and overall organizational health.
Funding
Griffin receives local, state, and federal funding, but is primarily funded via State of WA apportionment dollars which is based on enrollment. School District enrollment is a moving target, fluctuating from year to year. For example, this year’s 8th grade class has 24 more students than the 7th grade class, assuming enrollment in all other grade levels remain static next school year, we’ll enter the 2024-2025 school year 24 students less (approximately $216,000.00) than this year. Balancing the budget with shifts in enrollment is a difficult job, especially when costs are rising for wages, energy and fuel, food, facilities and maintenance, and other critical services the school needs to serve students. I recognize that sacrifices would need to be made and/or the fund balance would need to be used to offset new expenditures for an SRO program. I also believe you can’t put a price tag on the safety of staff and students, and the intrinsic value an SRO would bring to our community. School Districts, and Law Enforcement Agencies, can apply for State and federal grants for school safety that can be used to fund, or partially fund, an SRO program that can help offset costs to the district. I think this could be a great way to mitigate risk. I am currently in research mode on this and am looking forward to a follow-up meeting with Sheriff Sanders and Griffin’s Finance Director with my findings.
Role of the SRO
Student Resource Officers use the “triad” concept of school-based policing dividing the SRO responsibilities into three areas:
1. Public Safety Educator
· Teach Law Related Education (LRE) to students upon request from educators.
2. Mentor/Informal Counselor
· Foster successful relationships with students.
· Get the right kind of help to those that need it.
3. Law Enforcer
· Serve as the first line of defense in the event of a crisis on campus.
· Handle criminal issues (drugs, assault, child abuse, etc.) at school.
A crisis can happen anywhere, even at Griffin. An armed assailant on campus is everyone’s worst nightmare. Though it is a statistical anomaly so rare that it will likely never happen, Griffin is geographically removed from West Olympia making response times to our campus significantly longer. Having an SRO on campus would give us an immediate first line of defense in the event a worst-case scenario incident occurred.
When police are only seen at school when they respond to a 911 call, it sets the expectation that police only show up when bad things happen. Having an SRO on campus proactively and consistently allows students to get to know and trust someone in law enforcement. The primary function of the SRO is to build relationships with students, teaching them from a young age that a person in uniform can be a friendly face. They high five kids, get to know them by name, bring donuts to reward good behavior, and mentor kids when they are experiencing problems. They receive specialized training to work within the school setting including learning best practices for de-escalation techniques for neurodivergent students and students with disabilities. SROs are not on campus to get involved in school disciplinary action, their law enforcement role deals with crimes when they are committed at school. Griffin hasn’t historically had many serious issues with crime (assault, drugs, etc.) so I think an SRO at Griffin would bring the most value in a mentoring, counseling, and educational role.
Selecting the right candidate for a school’s SRO is the most important step. It’s true that not all law enforcement officers are cut out to work directly with kids – it takes a special personality. Ideally, a law enforcement officer that has experience working with youth, whether that is having kids of their own, coaching youth sports, or volunteering at youth organizations, would apply to be a candidate. The School District can and should assemble a selection committee made up of school and community stakeholders to be involved in the SRO selection process.
Other Options
I applaud the school staff and administration for recently approving a new security and intercom system using previous levy funding that gives the school much better security infrastructure and communication capabilities that will be installed later this year. As we discuss a comprehensive school safety plan, I think it is prudent to consider lower cost alternatives including parent volunteer programs like Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) and alternate security options TCSO can provide. Recently, I met with Principal Keiser and Principal Hagen to discuss re-implementing a Watch D.O.G.S. program. Watch D.O.G.S. is a family and community engagement educational initiative that provides positive role models for students and extra sets of eyes and ears to enhance school security and reduce instances of bullying. Currently, the two Principals are reviewing with staff for buy-in, with an anticipated launch date of January 11, 2024. Sheriff Sanders also mentioned that an upcoming re-organization will allow him the opportunity to provide armed, in-uniform security at school campuses at a fraction of the cost of an SRO, but that program may be as far as two years away. So, I think that a program like Watch D.O.G.S. is a great way to provide additional security at no cost to the district to bridge that gap.
Summary
After meeting with multiple Sheriff offices and discussing the day-to-day duties of a Student Resource Officer with a current SRO at a K-8 school, I am in full support of working collaboratively with fellow Board members, school administrators, and local law enforcement to develop a proposal and budget to include funding for an SRO program at Griffin.
I would also like to see other first responders have an active role at school. Whether that is Griffin Fire Department teaching fire safety, EMT teaching CPR classes, and Sheriff Deputies teaching grade level appropriate Law Related Education. I think this helps inspire young people to pursue a local career in civic service and provides enhanced safety and emergency preparedness.