Who do you think should be responsible for paying for school resource officers? / LJWorld.com

Asked at Massachusetts Street on June 29, 2008

“I would say the school district should be responsible. I think the resource officers are an extension of the school staff. It’s something that the school’s requesting and the police resources are stretched pretty thin, so I think the school district should pay.”

— Tony Dudley, engineer, Charlotte, N.C.

“I think it should be a partnership between the school district and the city, because both parties benefit from it and the community as a whole benefits. So they should share the expense.”

— Rhonda Montgomery, flood plain manager, Washington, D.C.

“I think it should be the state. That’s who we pay the majority of our tax dollars to in order to pay for things like that.”

— Britt McKeever, bartender, Lawrence

“Well, either way the taxpayer is paying for it. But they are a city police officer, so my first instinct is to have the city pay for it. It’s an assignment like any other, that just happens to be their beat.”

— Tabbatha Householder, teacher, Lawrence

Status quo likely for SROs, guards

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sgtwolverine 4 years, 11 months ago

What in the world is a school resource officer?

sunshine_noise 4 years, 11 months ago

truent officer like we use to have in the old days. It worked most of the time too.

"But they are a city police officer." This is a quote by Tabbatha Householder, teacher, Lawrence. It goes a long way toward understanding why today's students are NOT getting an education.The correct sentence would read: "But they are city police officers." Perhaps a refresher course in grammar would be helpful come summer, Ms. Householder?It's no wonder today's students, for the most part, are illiterate when incorrect English is what they hear from their teachers. Text messaging doesn't help their spelling skills either. And do students read any more? Literature, it seems, comes in DVDs--not books.In April, Lawrence voters (EXcluding me), voted you a generous raise, in my opinion. In June, you are again whining that the raise is insufficient. I say it is an unearned and undeserved gift. Teachers want to be paid the equivalent of twelve months salary for about seven months "teaching" their students. If I were a parent of students in public school, I'd be fighting mad about this. Kids are NOT getting an education. Teachers are overpaid. Consider: Nine months in the school year; Fall and Spring breaks; Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter breaks; planning sessions; National holidays; and some schools have Wednesday afternoons off. Even nine months of pay is too much.I think teachers should be required to attend refresher courses in the summers. I think students should not graduate from high school without basic skills. I think Schools of Education should raise their standards. Teachers spend more time "teaching to the test" than teaching course materials. No wonder colleges and universities no longer accept ACT and SAT tests. How are today's students going to be intelligent, productive members of society?I'd say raises for teachers who EARN them--not across the board.By the way, is it the "in" thing for teachers to wear blue jeans and work shirts to school? Can students really respect teachers dressed like they just came in from milking the cows?

killjoy 4 years, 11 months ago

Give the parents stun guns too. The kids get out of bed so much faster with the thought of 50,000 volts. Parenting can be effective and fun.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 4 years, 11 months ago

Police in schools?Start the transition to a police state early.

Dani 4 years, 11 months ago

I think the cost should be split between the schools and the city. Then we can use more resources to have mental health professionals in the schools. Currently, juveniles are getting charged for things that back in the day would have just earned you a detention or maybe a day or two of suspension. I guarantee you that the SROs and mental health workers see a lot of the same kids, and we could prevent the clogging of the juvenile docket if mental health workers had more of a presence in the schools.

deskboy04 4 years, 11 months ago

I don't know what she is saying about grammar. I graduated high school and them teachers learned me how to read and write. I got me a job, car, and computer...so there!

milkman_dan 4 years, 11 months ago

Kasha, You are certainly living proof that every child can't be educated.

sgtwolverine 4 years, 11 months ago

I don't think anyone should be responsible for paying for them until they have a name that actually communicates the job they do. "School resource officer" sounds like it has something to do with office supplies or something. The classic "Truant officer" or the more daunting "Destroyer of reluctant students" would be much better.

hitme 4 years, 11 months ago

Let's get volunteers. There must be plenty of retired prison guards that still have a lot to offer.

jimjones 4 years, 11 months ago

The students; that's who they're there for. We'll make the kids get jobs after school and pretty soon the kids will comply so they don't have to work and the officers won't be needed. next question

bluehorse22 4 years, 11 months ago

You know Kasha...you sound extremely bitter for some reason....and it's over a very trivial part of the local paper. It's so nice of you to attack someone personally when you can hide behind your username. Perhaps it was said correctly but it wasn't written down correctly. Who knows. So, what are YOU doing to educate children? What do YOU do to make a difference in the world, locally or globally? What do YOU do instead of bitterly attacking something that you are not apparently involved in? What do YOU do when you're not pointing out the smallest detail just to make someone else look bad or embarrass them behind your anonymous username on internet comment pages? Teachers work extremely hard to do what they do. Those Wednesday afternoons are not spent daydreaming by our teachers. They aren't out for the day...they have meetings, plan lessons, research new information, improve their knowledge, etc. Teachers spend more time with children than most children's parents spend with them. Often summers are spent teaching summer school or taking more classes on their own, paying for those classes out of their own pocket. It is very difficult to become a teacher, and it takes a lot of courage, knowledge and discipline to be a good teacher. Most professions don't require any of those factors, yet they get paid ridiculous amounts of money. So again, what do YOU do to improve children's lives instead of tearing them down because from your post, that seems like your greatest gift? At least teachers are trying, even if they aren't perfect...and I'm pretty sure you aren't perfect either!!!

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