How to Fund a School Resource Officer Program

In these days of tragic school shootings and generalized municipal anxiety, local governments are moving to install police officers in schools across the country. An SRO (School Resource Officer) can be a crime deterrent, a counselor, an administrator and a friend to students, staff and faculty. Many believe schools benefit in more than one way from having an officer on hand, and undoubtedly, schools with an SRO are safer because someone is watching over the halls throughout the school day.

Instructions

• 1

  Include SRO funds in the school district budget. A school district takes in revenues from a number of sources. School board officials can choose to use money from a capital or general fund to get an SRO into a school.

• 2

  Get funding from municipalities. The township, borough or county that a school district is in may agree to provide some funding for an SRO. A request for funds must go through the appropriate municipal boards.

• 3

  Pursue state and federal grants. Some programs are available at either a state or a federal level to help communities become safer by hiring SROs. Grant funding should be researched by local governments to see if their SRO program can be eligible for specific grants.

• 4

  Get funding from neighboring communities. Sometimes, umbrella programs include different local governments chipping in or pooling resources. A municipality in which some children attend a school can offer to help fund an SRO.

• 5

  Take up a collection. An SRO program is just the sort of thing an established community philanthropist might embrace. It appeals to ideas of community health and safety and is a high-profile project that people can feel good about. Local officials can go out with their hat for the SRO program as a service to the school district.