County, Town Mull Funding SROs in All Schools

Dorchester County Sheriff L.C. Knight and Dorchester County School District Two officials are on the same page: student resource officers can keep children safe and offer a near-panacea to the plague of school shootings.

Dorchester County Council Chairman Larry Hargett is also interested in the idea. Summerville Mayor Bill Collins — unlike his North Charleston peer — appears more noncommittal and wants to explore all options for school safety. 

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They all agree that it comes down to funding, and the decision for funding will not happen quickly. The district spans several jurisdictions, including Dorchester County, the Town of Summerville and the City of North Charleston. Each jurisdiction with its own law enforcement must commit officers to the schools within its jurisdiction.

"I'll be glad to work with anybody, but somebody's got to give me the funding," Knight said.

SROs are trained, uniformed law enforcement officers. In Dorchester Two, a Summerville Police SRO recently made headlines for deploying a Taser on an allegedly combative middle school student. 

Five Dorchester Two elementary schools in North Charleston were awarded SROs Wednesday after the mayor there made a quick decision, according to spokeswoman Pat Raynor. 

"We were most pleasantly surprised with Mayor (Keith) Summey's announcement," Raynor said. The additional SROs at North Charleston elementary schools comes to the tune of $2 million. 

The Dorchester County Sheriff's Office serves two school districts in unincorporated areas of the county. They currently have a presence at Ashley Ridge High, Givhans Alternative and Woodlands High. 

According to Knight, a newly hired deputy costs more than $100,000 in his first year — and the sheriff's office doesn't have the staff to spare without new hires, Knight said.

There are currently six SROs the town funds, with $140,000 given by the district to aid in the funding. They have a presence at Summerville High, Alston Middle, Gregg Middle, Oakbrook Middle and Rollings Middle School of the Arts. 

While Mayor Collins said he's not certain the SROs will prevent all future tragedies, he expressed the need for the town to be "at the table."

"We want to be part of the process," Collins said. 

Dorchester Two Superintendent Joe Pye, Collins and Town Councilman Walter Bailey are in talks Thursday to discuss the issue, but Collins said a decision may be late in coming due to winter break and Christmas around the corner. 

The soonest the issue will come before council is Jan. 7, Councilman Hargett said. 

"We need to have them, but we don't," Hargett said. "We've got to find some money."

Knight said that the SROs would be one of three steps in preventing tragedies such as Newtown.

"The solution would be student resource officers in every school, change the construction of the schools and change policies in the schools," Knight said. He said construction and policies should change, even if they create inconveniences. 

Knight also said he's "not a fan" of the recent proposal to arm teachers.