Derek Ploeger returned to the halls of Eureka High School on Jan. 4.
The Eureka Police officer is settling into his role as Eureka High School’s school resource officer (SRO), which he assumed as the second semester began.
Ploeger, a 2007 graduate of Eureka High, takes over for Brett Grittini, who leaves the school he has been assigned to since 2016 after being promoted to corporal in the Eureka Police Department.
“I’m definitely looking forward to the opportunity and getting back into Eureka High School again,” said Ploeger, who filled in for Grittini at Eureka High on occasion.
“The school has changed a lot since I was here in 2007,” he said. “The staff is extremely nice. I’m really looking forward to being a part of it down here.”
Rockwood will pay 75 percent of Ploeger’s $63,251.34 annual salary, and the city of Eureka will pay the rest. Grittini will earn $62,909.19 annually as a corporal, including a $1,500 raise he received with his promotion, Eureka City Administrator Craig Sabo said.
While looking forward to his new duties, Grittini said he’ll miss being an SRO.
“I could have done 10 years down there,” he said. “I really loved Eureka High School.”
Stepping in
Ploeger has been with the Eureka Police since 2009, first working at the jail and then as a patrol officer.
In preparation for his new duties, he received SRO training at the St. Louis County Police Academy, and Grittini spent a week showing him the ropes at Eureka High.
“It’s a new opportunity that showed itself, and I’m really looking forward to getting to work (at Eureka High),” Ploeger said. “The biggest change is probably the style of policing, going from dealing with adults to dealing with younger students.”
Eureka Principal Corey Sink said the school benefits from having an SRO.
“First and foremost, it provides a level of safety and comfort for everybody, just having a school resource officer,” Sink said. “They just offer such a benefit and number of resources to students. Students get to see police officers in a different manner than they may outside of a school building.”
Grittini said Ploeger will be a “great fit” at the high school.
“I just told him to build those relationships with the kids, as many relationships as you can,” Grittini said. “Let them view an officer as a regular human being, and let the kids understand that our role down there isn’t to catch them doing things and get them in trouble. It is more of just making sure they’re safe.”
Moving on
Grittini, who has been on the Eureka Police force since October 2012, said he will miss the relationships he has built with students and staff members.
“I really embraced the role, and it made me feel like I was back in high school again myself,” he said.
Grittini was often seen in the student section at Eureka High athletic events leading the school’s “Cat Pound” in cheers. He also has been a volunteer assistant coach for the baseball team, a role he said he plans to continue as best he can.
“My schedule is not going to allow me to be there for every single practice or every single game,” Grittini said. “I really enjoyed that part of being around the kids and being able to pass on some sort of knowledge.”
Sink said the new corporal will be missed.
“He will always have a presence here at the high school,” Sink said. “Losing someone who has really just become ingrained in everything that we do here, it’s always hard to lose somebody like that.”