K-M considering replacing SRO with private security

(Editor’s Note: Copies of the letter Superintendent Mark Matuska sent to Kasson-Mantorville parents and the response of Dodge County Sheriff Scott Rose are printed in their entirety beginning on page A4 of this week’s Dodge County Independent.)
A decision by the Kasson-Mantorville school board to look at alternative ways to provide school security is raising concerns among parents and law enforcement officials.
The school board recently decided to advertise for a School Resource and Relationship Officer (SRRO) to handle security at the school. A member of the Kasson Police Department assigned to be the School Resource Officer (SRO) has handled security at the school.
Last week Matuska sent an email to district parents explaining the board’s decision to consider a change to a private security officer.
“This new possibility for our SRRO is all about improving what we can do for kids and mimicking what other districts are doing at a more competitive cost for taxpayers,” Matuska wrote. In his letter he assured parents that “your children’s safety is the highest priority for the staff and the school board members at Kasson-Mantorville Schools. We are confident that any possible position change will not lessen the safety of your children while they are attending Kasson-Mantorville Schools.”
Matuska told parents that the budget was one reason the district is considering the change. Another reason, he said, is that the district wants the SRO to report to the superintendent rather than to the Kasson Police Chief.
K-M schools have had a contract for a number of years with the Kasson Police Department for a School Resource Officer for 175 days during the school year when students are in attendance. The K-M portion of the contract costs the district $67,283 or 65 percent of the cost of the SRO with the remainder of the cost paid by the city.
He pointed out that Hayfield and Triton share a SRO at a significantly less cost to each district. Triton and Hayfield each pay only $13,885 with the rest of the contract paid by Dodge County. He added that the district had contacted Sheriff Scott Rose about SRO services, but that Rose has said they were not interested in providing the services for the district.
Matuska said the district is looking for a licensed officer but also wants “a district employee that will develop strong relationships all the kids at every building.”
Rose responded to Matuska’s letter with a letter of his own posted on the Department’s Facebook page.
In his response Rose listed more than a dozen reasons why he believes the job should continue to be held by law enforcement.
Among Rose’s concerns, he wrote, is that a licensed SRO has constant radio communications with the county’s 911 Dispatch Center which a private SRO would not. A private SRO would have no arrest powers and would have to call for local law enforcement to respond to a violent, unstable or suspicious incident the same as any other citizen.
Regarding the district looking for a licensed officer, Rose wrote that “is not possible with this person being a full-time employee of the district and not a law enforcement agency.”
Rose also took issue with Matuska’s comments in the letter regarding the sheriff’s office providing SRO services.
“That is true,” Rose wrote. “However, my first concern that wasn’t shared was that most school districts have SRO’s provided by their respective law enforcement agencies — in KM’s case that would be the Kasson Police Department. Most grant funding will require this as well. It would be unethical for me to attempt to negotiate and bid against the agency responsible for the jurisdiction the school resides in — unless that local agency chose to discontinue their SRO services.”
Rose added the Sheriff’s Office has provided part-time SRO services for the Hayfield and Triton for more than 20 years. Initially, he said, the Kasson-Mantorville district was part of the program. At that time, he said, the Kasson Police Department chose not to provide SRO services because of staffing issues.
As to the cost of services, Hayfield and Triton both are smaller schools, Rose said. He added the Byron School District, which is comparable in size to K-M pays just over $74,000 for their Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office SRO.
Matuska was not immediately available to respond to Rose’s Facebook post which has garnered a large number of comments, generally supporting the sheriff.
The question of the SRO is likely to be a topic of interest at the next Kasson-Mantorville school board meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, June 27, in the High School Forum Room.