The Ray Fashano Tech Academy on Fourth St.
JAMESTOWN – Jamestown Public Schools will be adding a second full time school resource (SRO) when school resumes in September.
On Monday night, the Jamestown City Council discussed the hiring of a new police officer after it was learned that Jamestown school officials are requesting a second resource officer to work for the district.
According to Jamestown Police Captain Todd Isaacson, the new SRO will work at Jamestown’s Ray Fashano Tech Academy on Fourth St. He said the addition of the SRO is in response to an increase of incidents happening there during the 2014-15 school year, including the assault of a teacher by two students in April.
“There’s been instances throughout the school year when we’ve had officers up there, sometimes two times during the same school day,” Isaacson said. “I think if anything this will be a good factor in mitigating any instabilities that may arise. It serves multiple purposes including being a mentor, keeping the peace, and just being that underlying force [on site] in case things do become unstable.”
The new position is in addition to an SRO who is already stationed at the high school.
Because an officer will be devoted to working at the Tech Academy full time during the school year, the JPD will be hiring a new officer to work regular patrols.
“A senior officer will be assigned to the SRO position, one with experience, and then we’ll hire a new officer to take over the duties of the officer who’s been assigned to the Tech Academy,” Isaacson said.
During its July voting session, the Jamestown city council will be acting on lifting the city’s hiring freeze to bring on the new officer. Funding for the SRO position will be provided for by the Jamestown School District.
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