WESTMINSTER SCHOOL DISTRICT headquarters (OC Tribune photo).
A school resource officer program with a full-time police officer was approved unanimously Thursday night by the Westminster School District Board of Trustees.
Approved was an agreement with the Westminster Police Department to serve WSD schools within the city of Westminster. The agreement will run for the remainder of the 2022-2023 school year and for the entire 2023-2024 school year.
The city will designate a special unit of officers within the WPD consisting of full-time police officers specially trained and selected to provide SRO service.
Typically, a school resource officer’s role consists of law enforcement, informal mentoring of students and in-person teaching.
Estimated costs of such a program are calculated at $136,618 plus overtime for a part-time SRO and $231,583 plus overtime for a full-time officer. Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen recommends the full-time option.
The WSD is a K-8 system serving most of Westminster and parts of adjacent communities.