During their Aug. 6 meeting, City Commissioners will review their agreement with Great Falls Public Schools for school resource officers for the upcoming year.

Under the proposed agreement, the city will provide four SROs and necessary equipment and the district will pay the city quarterly installments of $91,751.06 for a total of $367,004.24.

The city and GFPS have partnered for the SRO program for about 27 years.

The annual agreement formalizes the relationship between the two entities to “foster an efficient and cohesive program that will build positive relationships between law enforcement and the youth in our community, with the goal of reducing crime committed by juveniles and young adults,” according to the city staff report.

Officials discuss school safety, student wellness [2023]

The success of the joint cooperative effort “relies upon the effective communication between all involved parties.
Moreover, the SRO’s will establish a trusting channel of communication with students, parents and school staff. The SRO’s will serve as a positive role model to instill in student’s good moral standards, good judgment and discretion, respect for others, and a sincere concern for the school community. The SRO’s will promote citizen awareness of the law to enable students to become better-informed and effective citizens, while empowering students with the knowledge of law enforcement efforts and obligations regarding enforcement, as well as consequences for violations of the law. The SRO’s can serve as confidential sources of informal counseling for students and parents concerning problems they face, as well as providing information on community resources available to them,” according to the staff report.

Under the agreement, GFPS provides 75 percent of the wages and any associated equipment for the four SROs.

The city funds the remaining $122,334.76 of the total cost of $489,339 to provide SRO services for the school year, according to the city staff report.

City staff sharing details of public safety with advisory committee

City Commissioners had included two new SRO positions in the public safety levy that voters rejected in November 2023.

The estimated cost of those two officers was $210,000.

Since the levy failed, the school district is continuing looking at options to add SROs and included them in a budget worksheet for the board’s budget committee in late July. The district could also include SROs in their own safety levy in the future.

No decisions regarding running future levies has been made.

City considering SRO agreement for upcoming school year [2023

In October, GFPD officials reviewed the annual SRO report with the school board.

During that meeting, GFPD Capt. Rob Moccasin said that during the 2022-2023 school year, the four SROs handled 647 total incidents, up from the previous year’s total of 432 incidents and 440 the year before.

Moccasin said he wasn’t sure what had caused the spike, but believed it was at least in part due to issues at Great Falls High and was tied to some incidents occurring off campus that were gang related.

GFPS officials discuss school safety [2022]

The total number of incidents was the highest since the 2018-2019 school year, which spiked at 660.

Last school year, there were 235 incidents at elementary schools, also the highest since the 2018-2019 school year.

Last year’s total was up from the 2021-2022 school year, which was 151 incidents, down from 190 the previous year.

The total complaints included an increased number of disturbances and assaults, which included student fights, as well as acts of violence and intimidation directed toward facilities, students and SROs.