GFPS has five SROs again this school year, with option for CCSO reserve deputy if needed
Students returned to Great Falls Public Schools on Aug. 26.
The school resource officer team looks a little different this year and there’s no assigned reserve deputy through the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office in place for the year.
During the Aug. 17 school board meeting, Superintendent Heather Hoyer told the board that this year’s SRO team is led by Sgt. Kaleb Larson, with detectives Jesse Rosteck, Shayne Stadel, Kristie Kinsey and Will Fleming.
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She said she met with Sheriff Jesse Slaughter and had a phone conversation with GFPD Chief Jeff Newton regarding the SROs.
The plan for this school year is that CCSO will provide their reserve SRO as needed, whenever the GFPD officers feel they need an extra set of hands or there’s something going on that requires extra eyes, Hoyer said.
She said the district will communicate through Larson and Newton or Slaughter to get the reserve SRO on site.
City approves SRO agreement with GFPS for upcoming school year
Earlier this summer, City Commissioners approved an agreement with GFPS for the 2026-2027 school year’s SROs.
The agreement provides five GFPD officers and necessary equipment for the SROs.
Under the agreement, GFPS pays the city quarterly installments of $139,571.75 for a total of $558,282.
The annual agreement formalizes the relationship between GFPS and the city 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.
In Great Falls, five SROs are assigned to specific schools but can cover others if needed and are the only armed people within the schools.
In 2024, the city and district updated their agreement to add a fifth SRO, up from the longstanding four officers covering district school buildings and events.
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GFPS covers 75 percent of the cost of those officers and the city covers the remaining 25 percent.
This year, GFPS’ share is $558,287 and the city funds the remaining $186,095 for a total of $744,328.
During the summer, the SROs support downtown patrol and other GFPD operations. They also serve as security during City Commission meetings the first and third Tuesday of every month.
Last falls, Slaughter pitched the GFPS school board on a reserve deputy SRO pilot program that hasn’t materialized yet for the district.
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In April, the school board was scheduled to vote on an agreement between GFPS, CCSO and GFPD, but it was pulled from the agenda at the request of county commissioners.
The agreement has not come back before the school board, nor has it gone before the city or county commissions.
In April, County Commissioner Joe Briggs told The Electric that commissioners hadn’t yet seen the agreement.
He said commissioners had some questions and wanted to review the document. He said they were discussing with county legal staff whether it needed commission approval and he had questions about the county’s liability under the proposal of putting someone on the county payroll under the supervisory control of GFPD.
Just before Christmas, county commissioners approved the compensation rate for reserve deputies Slaughter proposed to augment school safety.
The 2025 Legislature enacted a law, effective Oct. 1, 2025, allowing county governments to compensate reserve deputies with a rate set by commissioners.
Reserve deputies were previously authorized under state law, but were unpaid positions.
Slaughter lobbied for the law change and has since hired two reserve deputies.
One is assigned to Foothills Community Christian School, a private school located within the city limits.
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Slaughter said Foothills is covering all costs associated with that reserve deputy and has a signed agreement with the school.
The other is a rover, Slaughter said.
Both reserve deputy positions are included in his proposed budget that is currently available for public review.
County commissioners are scheduled to conclude the public hearing and take action on the proposed budget during a special Sept. 3 meeting.
The SROs typically give an annual report on their activity to the school board in October.
During their 2025 report, which covered data from the 2024-2025 school year, the SROs said they responded to 830 call-outs, a 27 percent increase over the previous year.
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Of those, 437 were at the request of GFPS and 357 occurred off campus but were referred to the SRO because they involved school-aged children.
The numbers show a “slow but steady uptick” in calls over five years, according to GFPS.
GFPD adds SRO, emphasis on downtown with existing officers, resources [2024]
Here’s a brief overview of GFPS safety protocols and more information is available here.
EVACUATION: Defined as an internal emergency that requires students and staff to leave the building for their safety. Parents should follow emergency notifications.
LOCKDOWN: Defined as an internal and/or immediate threat. All staff and students are locked in rooms. No one in or out.
SHELTER-IN-PLACE: Defined as a safety precaution for an external threat that is not an immediate or internal threat.
CLASS HOLD: Defined as a safety precaution implemented during an incident where students need to be kept in the classroom.
RELEASE WITH CARE: Defined as a possible threat in the school’s neighborhood during arrival and release time. Release with care procedures.
- To ensure safety, the building administrator may ask staff to escort students to/from buses or waiting cars.
- Staff may also be asked to accompany students home.
