St. Marys may hire school resource officer

ST. MARYS - School district officials are considering hiring a resource officer to improve student and staff safety.

St. Marys Police Chief Mark Ernst spoke to school board members on Wednesday about the possibility of the hire. The position would be different from any other officers that deal with the schools, he said.

The biggest benefit to having a resource officer at schools would be cutting response time in emergency situations, which is always a concern, Ernst said. A school shooting can take three or four minutes, but the average response time for law enforcement is five or six minutes, he noted.

"The most efficient way to reduce response time is to have an armed personnel present, again response time being our Achilles heel," he said.

Resource officers do more than just provide quicker responses, Ernst continued. They monitor school buildings daily and build relationships with students. Some eat lunch with students daily or routinely visit classrooms.

Wapakoneta schools have had a resource officer for about two years, and that officer has had a good relationship with students by talking with them daily, he said.

Ernst asked the school board to partner with city officials to cover the costs, which have not been determined.

The chief recommended hiring 12-year veteran Joshua Boos if city and school officials approve.

"Josh is a graduate of St. Marys high school. He has kids in the district, and I think with that, he will take the role of school resource officer even more seriously," Ernst said.

School board members took no action Wednesday but said they like the idea if the costs are reasonable.

Boos would serve the district from August to May and return to his traditional police duties in June and July. He also would be required to attend a week of resource officer training in the summer before starting the position in August, Ernst said.

Active shooters tend to target areas with high body counts and city schools have the highest concentration of people on a daily basis, he said.

School board member Ronda Shelby said she knows police officials, city council members and mayor Patrick McGowan value student safety and would agree to share the cost burden.

"I know the citizens of St. Marys and any time we do something for the protection of our children, they are always for that," she said. "You can never do enough for complete safety."

Also on Tuesday, board members,

• approved a resolution honoring the Memorial High School Scholastic Bowl team for becoming the first school ever to win the single-elimination tournament of TV 44's Whiz Kids in four consecutive years.

• approved a resolution honoring high school and FFA student Claire Schloemer for being selected as one of nine students to represent Ohio at the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute in Des Moines, Iowa. She has been offered a position at a research foundation in India this summer. Schloemer said she plans to go to India and wants to make addressing food and water scarcity issues her career.

• approved a resolution honoring high school and FFA student Reed Aller for being named a national proficiency finalist this summer in agricultural mechanics repair and maintenance entrepreneurship. He is scheduled to participate in an agriculture study trip to Ireland this summer, he said.

• learned the high school will host a Veterans Day program at 8 a.m Friday. All city veterans are welcome to attend, principal Bill Ruane said.

• approved contract services with the Montgomery County Educational Service Center for vision services at $1.62 per minute per student and hearing services at $1.57 per minute per student.

• approved reappointing Annette Bayham to the St. Marys Community Public Library Board for a term until Dec. 31, 2023.

• approved the overnight trip for bowling teams to the Boys & Girls Kickoff Classic Bowling Tournament in Columbus on Dec. 2-3.

• accepted a $300 donation from Midwest Electric to buy pedometers for middle school physical education classes.

• approved a Tri Star Career Compact referral for a new health information technology program starting the 2017-2018 school year.