HOW IMPORTANT ARE SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS?

The absence of four sheriff's deputies from Sullivan County's high schools
is a huge loss and will lead to increased drug use among students, school
system officials have told county commissioners.

"It's going to cause problems,'' said Director of Schools John O'Dell.
Sullivan East High School principal Mary Rouse raised the ante: "I think
there will be a tremendous rise in drug use. I think that will definitely go
up. It's a huge loss for schools."

But what is the hard evidence for these predictions?

School resource officers have been in Sullivan schools since 1996. In those
seven years, there's little doubt their presence has had the effect of
putting a friendlier face on county law enforcement, and that's certainly
not a bad thing. But have the school system and sheriff's department have
evaluated the program in a systematic way to learn its effectiveness?

What, for example, was the incidence of drug use among Sullivan County teens
prior to 1996? Can anyone demonstrate that having four sheriff's deputies in
the schools has had major impact on teen drug use?

Rouse told commissioners the lack of a uniformed officer on school campuses
will increase bad behavior among students. Maybe so. But maybe not.

If money didn't matter, keeping four sheriff's deputies stationed at county
schools wouldn't be an issue. But Sheriff Wayne Anderson's budget isn't
infinite. He's had to make some tough decisions in an extraordinarily tight
budget year, one in which commissioners cut money requested for citizen
safety.

The sheriff said he's not happy about it. But he can't justify reducing road
patrols to keep deputies walking the halls of schools, though the sheriff is
prepared to station auxiliary officers at the schools as patrol schedules
allow.

When the school resource officer program in Sullivan County schools began,
the federal government picked up the lion's share of the tab. But that grant
expired more than three years ago. Since then, most of the annual cost has
been borne by the sheriff's department.

If Sullivan school officials believe the sheriff's resource officers are
critically important, perhaps the county school board ought to recognize
that by including a significant portion of the cost of the program in the
annual budget.

County school officials might institute an annual survey of student drug and
alcohol use. Each year, the results ought to be publicized and an effort
made to get students, parents and other interested parties involved.