COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

SHERIFF’S OFFICE

DATE:

January 28, 2007

BOARD MEETING DATE:

February 6, 2007

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Greg Munks, Sheriff

SUBJECT:

Agreement with the Sequoia Union High School District.

RECOMMENDATION:

Adopt a Resolution authorizing the:

1.

President of the Board to execute an Agreement with the Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD) for provision of one (1) on-site School Resource Officer and management of a School Resource Officer Program, in the total amount of $49,875, and a term starting August 29, 2005 through June 8, 2007; and

2.

Sheriff to execute contract amendments which modify the County's maximum fiscal obligation by no more than $25,000 (in aggregate), and/or modify the contract term and/or services so long as the modified term or services is/are within the current or revised fiscal provisions.

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment: Ensure basic health and safety for all.

Goal(s): Maintain and enhance the public safety of all residents and visitors

This Agreement contributes to this commitment by improving school safety and student development as well as building a collaborative partnership with the Sequoia Union High School District.

Performance Measure(s):

Measure

FY 2005-06
Actual

FY 2006-07
Target

No. of first-time offenders placed in Juvenile Diversion Program

79

58

Percent successfully completing Juvenile Diversion Program

90%

90%

BACKGROUND:

The Sheriff’s Office has assigned an on-site School Resource Officer (SRO) to Woodside High School since 1994. School safety and student development improve each year with the presence of an on-site SRO. Since the formation of the SRO program, a collaborative partnership with the school and surrounding local business/residential community has formed and matured, helping to combat important problems such as youth violence, gangs, and drugs. Moreover, the regular presence of a peace officer on campus can help deter the terrible consequences of armed youth coming unopposed onto a high school campus, as the nation witnessed with Columbine High School and far too many other examples.

There is no statutory fiscal obligation for the SUHSD to reimburse the Sheriff’s Office for this service; any contribution is voluntary. During 2005-06, as a result of the County’s budget deficits, and related Sheriff’s Office budgetary reductions in “discretionary” programs such as community policing and school resource deputies, Woodside High School and Sequoia District administration were approached with a proposal to cost-share a negotiated portion of the assigned Deputy salary & benefit cost. This type of cost-sharing of SRO costs is becoming common around the state. Despite facing significant budget reductions in educational programs themselves, the District agreed to try to identify funds to reimburse the Sheriff’s Office for SRO costs.

DISCUSSION:

The proposed Agreement provides Woodside High School with one full-time SRO Deputy during the regular school year, which commences in August and ends in June.

The SRO has three very important roles when assigned to the school.

§ As a law-related education teacher, the SRO will teach traffic enforcement and other crime prevention and law enforcement related classes, as well as help conduct Sober Prom and Sober Graduation activities.

§ As a law-related counselor, the SRO will incorporate crime prevention into the school curriculum, assist school staff and administration with the development of safety and emergency preparedness procedures, and train campus aides to assist with incident pre-response activities, as well as routine safety functions on campus.

§ As a law enforcement officer, the SRO will help protect the lives and property of the citizens and students of the school; keep informed of elements and incidents that threaten the safety of the students and school and take appropriate actions; and investigate alleged criminal activity committed on or adjacent to school property.

During the 2005-06 school year, the School Resource Program continued at Woodside High School, even though the District faced significant budget reductions in educational programs, and was not able to financially contribute to the cost at that time. Although the 2005-06 school year has passed, the District has advised the Sheriff’s Office that it believes the SRO services are very valuable, and that following the close of the year, the District was eventually able to identify some available one-time funding which allows for partial reimbursement of the SRO services provided across two fiscal years: 2005-06, and 2006-07. Thus, this is the reason the contract’s commencement date is retroactive to August 2005.

The Agreement will provide for the continuation of the School Resource Program through this current school year ending June 8, 2007. With the rising crime and gang affiliation problems on school campuses, the Sheriff’s Office feels it is important to continue providing the on-site SRO even though the District has not yet been able to identify ongoing funds to reimburse the Sheriff’s Office for this service, due to their decreased 2006-07 and 2007-08 budgets. The Sheriff's Office will continue to work with the District to identify future funding opportunities. The Sheriff's Office has been very successful in this regard, with the elementary and middle schools that the Sheriff’s Office works with. Unfortunately, less grant funds are generally available for these partnership programs at the high school level, ironically since the need for law enforcement partnership is perhaps even greater at this level.

County Counsel has reviewed and approved this Resolution and Agreement as to form.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Agreement provides reimbursement ($49,875) from the Sequoia Union High School District for approximately 25% of the deputy’s position cost, for each of the nine-month school terms. Revenue from this proposed Agreement has been included in the Sheriff’s Office FY 2006-07 budget, helping to reduce the net County cost for the SRO program.