State funding boosts school security: Lakeland, Plummer-Worly expand safety teams

The Lakeland Joint and Plummer-Worley school districts are among 27 Idaho districts and charter schools that will be awarded state funding for school resource officers.

The Idaho State Department of Education announced Tuesday it will provide more than $2.2 million to fund these positions. Lakeland will be awarded $239,760 and Plummer-Worley $333,195 for three years.

Plummer-Worley School District, which has three school buildings, is working with the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police Department to install the district's first school resource officer in 20 years.

"I know it's going to help us a ton," Plummer-Worley School District business manager Sara Allen said. "We’re trying to stop some of the problems we have here."

Despite lacking a dedicated resource officer, Allen said, Tribal officers often spend time in the schools, building relationships with students.

"It will be a good thing for the students to see someone here all the time," Allen said.

Lakeland Superintendent Lisa Arnold said her district is working with the Spirit Lake Police Department for one of its officers to serve as the school resource officer for Timberlake Middle and Spirit Lake Elementary schools. Lakeland presently has three armed safety specialists who are district employees and four school resource officers.

“I’m thrilled we’re continuing to build our safety team," Arnold said. "Student safety is my No. 1 priority and concern."

She said she is most excited about the state recognizing the need for safety personnel on school campuses and putting money toward this endeavor. Until this point, all school resource officers have been paid for by supplemental levy dollars.

"It will eventually be a district responsibility," Arnold said. "For right now, they’re helping us pay for it, and it's something for our community that is really important."

The newly available funding for the officers was made available by the Idaho Legislature and the state’s Millenium Fund, and administered by the Idaho Department of Education. Established in 2000, the Millenium Fund receives, invests and disburses funds Idaho receives under the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement reached between participating states and tobacco product manufacturers. 

Every school that applied for school resource officer funding was required to provide the state with budgets incorporating proposed salaries and benefits for the positions. Every school that applied was approved for funding. Recipients include rural districts in all six educational regions in Idaho. Ten recipients will be hiring school resource officers for the first time.

“I’m so pleased that we were able to allocate funds to each applicant,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield said in the news release.

“It’s no secret that both in Idaho and nationwide, schools are looking to reinforce safety and security for students and staff," she said. "This initiative is a step towards providing them with the environment they need to flourish."