FDL School Board Continues Talks on SRO Program

The Fond du Lac School Board met in executive session
Monday night to continue discussions regarding the district’s School Resource
Officer Program with the City of Fond du Lac Police Department. Five SRO’s are
currently assigned to the district – with two assigned to Fond du Lac High School
and three other splitting duties at each of the district’s middle schools. All
five have responsibilities at the elementary school level. The officers work in
the school year-round, even when classes are not in session, and compensation
for the SRO’s has been part of the talks.

Right now, the district and the city split the cost of the
SRO’s salary in half. Recent discussions, however, have reportedly centered
around reducing the district’s share because school is only in session nine
months out of the year. That’s led to parent concerns about the possibility of
losing an officer in the schools. District Superintendent Jim Sebert says that’s
a possibility but it depends on where the talks go. “Part of the conversation is, depending on the
financial arrangement, how many officers would that allow?,” Sebert said. “If
the district, for example, was not going to pay in the summer and the city was
not able to pick up any additional funds, that could result in the reduction of
a School Resource Officer.” Sebert says the discussion is still on the table as
to what makes the most sense for all parties involved, and that the SRO’s remain a key part of keeping all of the district schools safe going forward.