The Crystal City School District has school resource officers on campus for the first time in about a decade.
Three SROs have been taking turns patrolling the campus and visiting the schools since the start of the current school year, but the Board of Education just approved an agreement to pay Crystal City for the SRO services.
The school board voted 6-0 at its Oct. 17 meeting to pay $40,000 this school year for the Crystal City Police Department to provide the SROs, who work on a rotating basis as part of their patrols during regular school hours and at other extra-curricular activities. Board member Cindy Coleman was absent from the meeting.
Crystal City Mayor Mike Osher and City Administrator Jason Eisenbeis attended the school board meeting on behalf of the city.
“I think it’s a good thing,” Osher said. “I think it’s a win-win for both. They haven’t had an SRO for probably 10 years.”
Crystal City Police Capt. Mike Pruneau said he was the Crystal City Schools SRO in the late 1990s, the last time the school district paid the city for the service. However, the department supplied an SRO to the district, off and on, from about 2005 to 2013, without payment from the district, Pruneau said.
Since the start of the 2023-2024 school year in August, the Crystal City Police Department has provided SRO services, said Crystal City School District Superintendent Crystal Reiter, who is in her first year in the job.
The school district will pay the city the $40,000 in quarterly $10,000 installments.
Crystal City Elementary, 600 Mississippi Ave., enrolls preschoolers through sixth-graders, and Crystal City junior high and high school students, in grades seven through 12, attend classes in another school building at 1100 Mississippi Ave.
“Essentially, there are three officers who will rotate to cover our buildings, our elementary and our high school,” Reiter said. “They also will cover athletic events and other after-school activities.”
She said the time those officers spend on the campus will vary depending on other calls they need to respond to in the city, Reiter said.
“The whole idea is the officers will be on regular duty, but will be in the schools as much as possible,” she said. “Some days, they might be here more than others. Basically, they will be here unless they need to be somewhere else to attend to other situations or emergencies.”
Reiter said she feels the system has worked out well so far.
“It’s helpful to have the extra presence in the halls, and it’s also an opportunity for the students and the officers to build relationships,” she said.
Reiter said the city and school district began working on the new agreement last school year.
“We decided to pick it up this year,” she said. “Last night (Oct. 17), it was formalized.”
Reiter said having police officers in the building improves safety for students and staff.
“I feel the buildings are pretty safe, but I feel it’s important to have their presence so the officers know the buildings, the students and the staff,” Reiter said.
The Crystal City School District holds classes four days a week, on Tuesdays through Fridays.