SROs back on the beat

Published 4:52 pm Friday, December 12, 2008

POULSBO — School resources officers (SROs) are once again on the beat in the North Kitsap School District. On Thursday night the NKSD school board reinstated the SRO’s contracts at a regular scheduled board meeting.

The contracts are partnerships between NKSD, the Kitsap County Sheriff Department and the Poulsbo Police. A copy of NKSD’s contract with the Kitsap County Sheriff Department states the contract amount is $36,162 and the term of agreement is from Oct. 20, 2008 through June 15, 2009, “Unless mutually extended by the parties in writing.”

Poulsbo’s Police Chief Dennis Swiney said they’re still working on the contract with NKSD and hopes to have it finished shortly after the first of the year. Regardless, Swiney is pleased the SRO’s are back patrolling.

“I appreciate the fact the school district was willing and able to reinstate the School Resource Officer positions,” Swiney said. “I’m a big advocate of the SRO program. I’m real happy about it and it benefits everybody; the parents, the youth and the community.”

NKSD Director of Communication Chris Case said the SRO’s resumed patrolling the district’s schools at the beginning of October.

“We had extra funds and wanted to reinstate programs of most interest,” Case said.

In other business, Tom Anderson was voted in as the new school board president and former president Melanie Mohler was voted in as vice president.

The North Kitsap School District’s student enrollment for the 2008-09 year is approximately 135 students higher than projected.

The district cut the two SROs last spring because of a lack of funding.