VERMONTVILLE, Mich. — Maple Valley Jr-Sr High School is searching for alternatives after losing its School Resource Officer due to budget constraints hitting the Eaton County Sheriff's Office.
- Maple Valley Schools is searching for new security options after losing their School Resource Officer due to Eaton County budget cuts.
- response times for non-priority issues have increased significantly without local law enforcement coverage in the area.
- A proposed partnership with Nashville police from Barry County has been blocked due to liability concerns and state oversight requirements.
Shannon Webb, a teacher at Maple Valley Schools for more than 30 years, said the change has created challenges this school year.
WATCH: Eaton County school looks for new for safety measures following resource officer loss
"Usually it's been great, we've always been able to call Eaton county, they've been out here right away and used to have a school resource officer," Webb said. "It's not fair, because then it puts us in a difficult position whether we're a teacher, administrator, superintendent or students dealing with that other kid."
The loss of the SRO program stems from ongoing financial issues at the county level that I have been reporting on for months. These budget problems also ended the sheriff's road patrol in the area.
"The millages were the big issue," Eaton County Sheriff Tom Reich said. "Really put the crunches to the sheriffs office."
Maple Valley Superintendent Dr. Katherine Bertolini said the new cost for a School Resource Officer through Eaton County became too expensive, prompting the search for other solutions.
Without an SRO or Eaton County deputies to respond to incidents, the school has experienced longer wait times for emergency calls. Police calls are now sent to Michigan State Police since no deputies patrol this area.
"We've got to wait for dispatch to send us MSP and then we wait knowing it could be anywhere from a 39 minute response time to 60 minutes, those are my two most recent summons that we've had," Bertolini said.
I reached out to Michigan State Police for comment on response times but have not received a response.
Bertolini has proposed a cross-county solution similar to the past SRO program that worked with neighboring Barry County officers.
"The only municipal police force we have is the Nashville village which is only about a four minute response time," Bertolini said.
Currently, a response from Nashville would require a dire emergency at the school. For less urgent calls, Nashville police would need to be deputized in Eaton County to cross over from Barry County.
However, Sheriff Tom Reich said he cannot accommodate this request.
"I just don't think it's reasonable for me to swear in an outside agency," Reich said.
Reich suggested the school sign up for state funding instead, saying deputizing a Nashville officer would create too many liability issues.
"They have an option I gave that option to them, which was the state has a program, where they would pay for a police officer to be there, but because of the oversight if something should happen the state comes in and does an investigation, and they don't want that, I guess my question is why should I have a liability and they don't," Reich said.
Bertolini said she's uncertain whether money from the state program would cover the cost of an SRO. She also said the school board declined to sign waivers required by the state program.
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While continuing to search for solutions, Bertolini questions why the Nashville police option wouldn't work.
"I'm concerned and confused by that because when it comes to the safety and welfare of children I don't think a liability concern is sufficient," Bertolini said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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