RB council reaffirms SRO for school

During its regular meeting Sept. 8, the Red Bay City Council discussed and approved the submission of a revised Memorandum of Understanding to Superintendent Greg Hamilton and the Franklin County Board of Education for the school resource officer at Red Bay.

Red Bay Mayor Charlene Fancher noted an SRO is already employed in this position. “We’ve had a Memorandum of Understanding in place since, I believe, 2018,” she added. “It’s now time that we submit this Memorandum of Understanding to the Board of Education as to the specifics of that officer being on campus.”

Fancher said having an SRO has helped with teachers, students and other staff have a better feeling of safety, adding the city’s “very proud” to be able to have the SRO for the school system.

The resolution reaffirms the council’s commitment “to provide a safer learning environment” for students and faculty, explaining the mayor and city council have agreed to employ “a properly trained School Resource Officer who will be employed by the City of Red Bay.”

It specifies the Franklin County Board of Education will pay the cost of security training for said SRO, “who will be exclusively assigned to the Red Bay school system,” noting the SRO “shall be required to complete and maintain proper training for said position.”

The SRO is responsible for maintaining his or her law enforcement officer credentials in good standing and annually completing and passing the firearms requalification required of all law enforcement officers.

According to the resolution, the City of Red Bay is responsible for overseeing and ensuring compliance with the above stated conditions.