Thanks for working together to get resource officer
2-20-08

It’s always nice when a plan comes together.
That’s particularly true in Sanpete County when multiple government entities get together to do something no one of them can do alone.
Because of a cooperative effort by school districts, the county and municipalities, Sanpete County will have three school resource officers next year.
The North Sanpete School District has had a resource officer since 1999. The district established the position with a federal grant. But now the job is locally funded with the school district, county and five municipalities contributing.
The North Sanpete officer, Deputy Greg Peterson, not only keeps an eye out for drugs in North Sanpete schools, provides security at school activities and much more, but also helps coach sports and works to build rapport with students.
When school isn’t in session, he is a regular sheriff’s deputy. And in unusual situations, he can be called off school duty for other law enforcement work, as he was last week when a house exploded in Whispering Pines.
The South Sanpete School District has talked about getting resource officers for a long time. But the impetus to act now came from the Gunnison Valley Drug Abuse Consortium, a community-church anti-drug effort.
Consortium leaders recognized that a police officer in local schools could be the front line in drug, alcohol and tobacco prevention and early intervention. They nudged the school district to move forward.
While it has taken several months to put the package together, the school district, county and six cities have come up with funding for two officers—one in the Gunnison Valley and one in Manti and Ephraim schools.
Because the Gunnison Valley officer will be a Gunnison City officer and supplement the Gunnison Police Department, Gunnison City is providing about one-quarter of the funding for that position.
The Manti-Ephraim officer will be a sheriff’s deputy like the North Sanpete officer.
The differences between the North Sanpete and South Sanpete funding formulas aren’t important. The differences in total funding for one officer position versus another aren’t important. Even the specific amounts various cities are contributing aren’t terribly important.
The important thing is that a spectrum of elected officials, including county commissioners, school board members, city council and town board members have all focused outside their own boxes on a big goal—safe, drug-free schools.
Then, with minimal bickering about who would get what, or whether someone else would benefit more than them, they have pitched in to get the job done.