Here’s a look at how school resource officers are used, paid for in Centre County

School safety has been at the forefront of the minds of parents, students and educators in recent years. Across the nation schools have been taking steps to ensure the physical safety of students and staff.

In a 2019-2020 study, Pew Research Center found that 97% of schools restricted entry during school hours with 65% of schools having at least one security person present throughout the week. Nearly all Centre County districts employ school resource officers or an additional type of security.

School resource officers act as liaisons between districts and police departments, ensure school safety and help educate staff and administration. In return, the district compensates the police department, typically 75% of the officer’s salary.

Other districts employ SPOs, school police officers, which are law enforcement officers who are employed by the school or independent contractors who have been certified by a judge.

Any armed security personnel, including SROs and SPOs, must complete specific training under Act 67 and courses from the National Association of School Resource Officers.

Here’s a look at how each Centre County school district handles SROs:

Bald Eagle Area School District

Bald Eagle Area School District employs two officers, one stationed at the high school and middle school and a director of safety and security. The director helps to advise the administration on districtwide safety measures, interim superintendent Joseph Clapper said. Officers are employed by the district, costing about $85,000 total a year.

“Both are tremendous assets to our school community,” Clapper said in an email.

Bellefonte Area School District

Bellefonte Area School District has two SROs, one at the high school and one at the middle school. The officers are Bellefonte Borough employees but the district covers 75% of their salary along with trainings and some equipment, totaling around $180,000 a year, according to Ken Bean, BASD’s director of fiscal affairs.

“If I could ever swing it, I’d love to have another one,” Bean said. “I think they’ve been very highly valuable. They help the district in numerous ways.”

Penns Valley Area School District

Penns Valley Area School District does not currently employ a school resource officer. The district has met with resource officers from the Central Pennsylvania Institute of Technology and the State College Area School District but are still looking at the benefits and costs associated with them.

Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District

Like BEA, Philipsburg Osceola does not have an agreement with a local police department; they’ve formed their own. Since 2018, the district has employed a force of five former state troopers.

After the 2018 Parkman Douglas shooting, the district revisited its security procedures and implemented the force. The officers provide peace of mind and help combat the worry about police response time for the rural district, superintendent Gregg Paladina said. The five officers cost the district an estimated $200,000 a year.

“You can’t put a price tag on a kid’s safety,” Paladina said.

P-O is the only district in Centre County to have full-time officers in elementary schools. Other districts have SRO officers on call for elementary schools but not stationed there full time.

“Every community’s a little different and just because they don’t have anything doesn’t mean they’re not safe,” Paladina said.

State College Area School District

The district has two full-time SROs from State College Borough and one part-time SRO from Patton Township who are stationed at State High, the Delta Program and Park Forest Middle School. The district compensates the departments for the officers, costing $320,000 for the 2022-2023 school year.