Ohio County Board of Education Approves Contract To Keep Prevention Resource Officers in Schools
Trending
WHEELING -- The Ohio County Board of Education Monday night approved a contract to keep county-provided prevention resource officers in school buildings through the end of this school year.
The agreement achieved is expected to result in reducing the overall number of county-provided PROs from six to five, while eventually eliminating the PRO from Middle Creek Elementary School, Board of Education President David Croft explained.
The school district also has plans to reduce the overall number of deputies serving as PROs in the coming years, while hiring more from the city of Wheeling at a cheaper cost, he said.
The contract unanimously approved by the board of education Monday next moves on for approval by the Ohio County commissioners, who next meet at 4 p.m. Feb. 16.
It calls for the Ohio County Sheriff's Department to initially supply Ohio County Schools with six deputies to serve as PROs for this school year for a total cost of $562,754 -- or $93,792 per deputy.
Upon approval, it is expected the Middle Creek PRO would be eliminated to reduce the number of deputies provided from six to five, and the contract will be adjusted when this occurs, Croft said.
Ohio County Schools also has a second contract with the city of Wheeling, which currently supplies three PROs to the school district at a cost of $146,000 annually — or $48,666 each. That's almost half the cost of the $93,796 per deputy charged by the county, he said.
"I think we will be keeping a total of eight PROs, but we'll probably be hiring more from the city," Croft said.
He explained why it was decided the PRO should be eliminated from Middle Creek Elementary. Middle Creek, Woodsdale and Madison are the only elementary schools that presently have their own PROs.
PROs are necessary at Woodsdale, which has a large student population, and at Madison, which is in a high traffic location, according to Croft.
In addition, West Liberty and Bethlehem elementary schools are in communities that have their own police departments, he said.
The PRO at Triadelphia Middle School presently serves Steenrod Elementary. The PRO at Wheeling Middle School also is Ritchie Elementary, and the officer at Bridge Street Middle School works with those at Elm Grove Elementary, according to Croft
He expects the PRO at Bridge Street also could serve Middle Creek Elementary School.
"There was never a need there (for a PRO)," he said. "Previously, there was a grant to provide a PRO there at no charge to the school district, and one was dropped in there. But there was never an assessed need."
Two Ohio County deputies presently serve as PROs at Wheeling Park High School, while one deputy PRO is assigned at each of the following schools: Warwood School, and Woodsdale, Madison and Middle Creek elementary schools.
Wheeling police officers serve as PROs at Triadelphia, Bridge Street and Wheeling mIddle schools.
Among those attending Monday night's board meeting was new West Liberty University President W. Franklin Evans. He told the board his own children, who presently live in South Carolina, will be moving to Wheeling this weekend and starting school at West Liberty Elementary on Monday.
All board members were present, including Grace Norton, who was recently hospitalized for COVID-19 issues for just over a month.
The board next meets at 6 p.m. on Feb. 22 at the board office, 2203 National Road, Elm Grove.