---

BY RACHEL DOVE
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — A new law requiring a school resource officer in every K-12 school begins Aug. 1 and puts the Martin County School District in a bind.

House Bill 63 passed the General Assembly during the 2022 Legislative session and was signed into law by Gov. Andy Beshear in April. To comply with the law, Martin County School District will have to hire five officers with three levels of training, which is 120 extra hours in addition to their other police training.

Martin County Schools Superintendent Larry James says he is “100 percent in support of having resource officers at the schools to protect students.” However, the law comes at a time when the Martin County Sheriff’s Office has a shortage of deputies and an inability to attract certified officers willing to work for less than a desirable payscale.

That means partnering with the sheriff’s office, as many counties are doing, presents a challenge.

“Our sheriff’s department is working with two full-time deputies, with only one of those being certified,” James explained. “The board of education would reimburse the sheriff for the salary, supplies, equipment, a cruiser and other things. The problem seems to be finding certified officers willing to work for a minimal pay rate when they can make more money elsewhere.”

Martin County Sheriff John Kirk has one certified deputy.

“I had two certified officers — and one left for a better paying position and benefits, which we cannot offer,” Kirk said. “It’s impossible to attract officers, let alone those who are certified, when we pay an average of $12 an hour, and other agencies offer not just more money, but a benefits package that includes health insurance.”

Kirk has sent several officers to the police academy, only for those officers to accept offers from other agencies and leave the sheriff’s office.

According to Kirk, hiring certified officers for the school board, completely outfitting them, providing all equipment, including cruisers, and sending them for the extra training would cost about $60,000 per officer for one school year.

“The board needs to have five SROs to allow for one at each school,” said the sheriff. “If you hire less than that, you’d be splitting their time between schools, and that would mean there would always be locations without protection. It wouldn’t take long for someone that was, God forbid, concocting an evil plan that involved a school to figure out the resource officer’s schedule and know which one was without protection.”

James says he and the school board members are committed to complying with the new law and taking steps to protect the students. That might mean the school board would have to establish an SRO department, which the superintendent says would be “a very complicated and confusing process.”

James is anxious to receive information and guidance from the state on beginning the process and expects to have that guidance within the next week.

“This is new ground for us,” said James. “We are in the teaching business and not the law enforcement business. That’s why we were hoping to hire through the sheriff’s department. There’s a chance that still may be a possibility, but as the sheriff said, certified officers are few and far between, and finding them, let alone hiring them, is extremely difficult.”

The sheriff suggests seeking out retired state police troopers who want to stay busy but no longer want to perform their former daily police work.

“They’re certified, well trained, and are at the age where maturity and a cool head are common traits, which I think is very important when dealing with our youth,” said Kirk. “But whatever the school board decides, we will do our best to work with them however we need to.”

James says the district will “get there one way or another.”

“The safety of our students is the top priority,” added James. “I know we are down to the wire to comply with the deadline set for Aug. 1 and school set to begin Aug. 10, but we are working hard to come up with a solution as quickly and efficiently as possible.”