WASHINGTON COUNTY, Tennessee — Tennessee has launched applications for grant funding for school resource officers. It's aimed at keeping kids safe.
Keith Sexton, the Washington County Sheriff, completed his department's application last Thursday. He said nearly every school already has a school resource officer, but the state funding will still be a big boost.
“This money will be used to not only replace the money that comes out of my budget to supply SROs to the county schools, but also supply additional SROs,” Sexton said.
The $140 million funding pool will provide $75,000 for each officer. They'll need police certification as well as 40 hours of SRO training and an additional 16 hours of training annually.
Sexton said the county is having to search hard to find people to fill SRO positions, even if they do have funding for them.
“Yes. We face the same employment challenges everyone else is facing," Sexton said.
Other departments we spoke with haven't yet submitted their applications.
Johnson City is in the final stages. Kingsport police leaders said they need to get approval from the mayor and alderman first before the funding is accessible.
Sexton said an SRO can make all the difference for safety.
“You can put whatever security measures you want on any building, but until you have somebody there who is armed and can respond to the active threat, it's not much good,” he said.