HILLSDALE — After funding tied to the position was cut, a school resource officer assigned to Hillsdale Community Schools was removed from the district in December.
HCS Superintendent Ted Davis was unavailable for comment June 15.
The position was funded in part through a state grant, which allowed the district to reimburse the officer’s wages to the Hillsdale City Police Department. When grant funding ended, so did the district’s ability to maintain the position, according to Police Chief Kris Joswiak.
Joswiak said he’s exploring possible options with the district over the summer. In the meantime, he said, the SRO has been reassigned to road patrol to help cover a staffing shortage.
Joswiak expects nearly all road patrol positions to be filled soon, though one vacancy remains as a result of a recent retirement. By the end of the month, he said, all but one will have completed training.
As of now, he added, there’s been no request from Hillsdale Community Schools to re-establish an SRO, and the department’s budget has already been reduced to reflect the loss.
— Contact reporter Corey Murray at cmurray@hillsdale.net or follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @cmurrayhdn.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Hillsdale Community Schools loses school resource officer. Here’s why
Reporting by Corey J. Murray, Hillsdale Daily News / Hillsdale Daily News
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By Corey J. Murray, Hillsdale Daily News | USA TODAY Network
