Title
Approval to Enter into Agreements with Various School Districts for Potential Future School Resource Officers (Ordinance S-50065)
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to allow the Police Department to enter into Intergovernmental Agreements with various school districts at the school district's request for the potential placement of School Resource Officers (SROs) should SRO resources become available in the future. These agreements are for the 2023-2024 school year. Further request authorization for the City Treasurer to accept and for the City Controller to disburse all funds related to this item.
Report
Summary
At the request of school districts, the Police Department enters into Intergovernmental Agreements with various school districts to assist with the cost of SROs deployed in schools. Funding for SROs is provided through partnerships with the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and individual school districts. Through this partnership, school district funds reimburse the City for 75 percent of the SRO's salary, while the remaining 25 percent is paid by the City.
The 2022-2023 school year included agreements for SRO services at 71 schools for a total deployment of 64 SROs. The 2023-2024 school year will include agreements for SRO services at 71 schools for a total deployment of 64 SROs. However, there are not additional SROs available to fill the additional requests that have been received from other school districts at this time.
Additional requests for SROs, which are not able to be filled at this time, have been received by the following nine school districts:
- Daisy Education Corporation dba Sonoran Science Academy
- EAGLE College Prep Schools
- Friendly House, Inc.
- Legacy Traditional School
- Madison Highland Prep
- Phoenix Union School District
- Sage Academy, Inc.
- Victory Collegiate Academy Corporation
- Western School of Science and Technology, Inc.
There are also several school districts that have received funding from the ADE to support SRO placements but have not submitted a formal request to the Police Department, including the following seven school districts:
- ASU Preparatory Academy
- Franklin Phonetic Primary School, Inc.
- Isaac Elementary District
- Skyline Schools, Inc.
- Southwest Leadership Academy
- Synergy Public School, Inc.
- Tolleson Elementary School
This request will allow the City to enter into conditional agreements with the school districts that have already made a formal request and the districts above that may submit a request in the future. In these conditional future resource agreements, the City and the additional school districts must agree that, at this time, the Police Department does not have officers available to fulfill the additional SRO positions, nor is there a timeline of when SROs may become available.
These agreements will allow the City and the additional school districts to move forward in the future if SROs become available. If additional SROs become available, the Police Department may make a placement, which may be in a single- or multi-school model. Additional terms may also be agreed upon regarding school district and officer responsibilities, interactions between officers and students and/or staff members as well as other terms relevant to the relationship between the school district and the department.
The Police Department is also exploring options for innovative ways to potentially provide school safety resources to schools with limited availability of sworn officers. This may include a multi-school or regional model, the integration of civilian staff members or other innovations to meet the growing need. These options will be discussed with Council members and education partners at a future date.
Contract Term
The terms of these agreements are for one year with varying start and end dates to coincide with each school's 2023-2024 school year.
Financial Impact
If SROs become available, the cost to the City is the 25 percent match for the SRO salary and fringe benefits.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Lori Bays and the Police Department.