Pierce County, WA school district drops resource officer program

Pierce County School District drops resource officer program

The Franklin Pierce School District will no longer have armed sheriff's deputies on campus for the first time in two decades after the school district was unable to fund a two-deputy program.

TACOMA, Wash. - For the first time in about 20 years, students will return to class in the Franklin Pierce School District without sheriff’s deputy resource officers.

Officials with the district told FOX 13 Seattle that the decision to remove school resource officers (SROs) is based on cost.

Last year, the district spent more than $340,000 to have deputies in schools, said Joel Zylstra, a spokesperson for Franklin Pierce School District.

Zlystra said the district budgeted money for one SRO this year.

However, he said the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office will not allow anything less than two SROs.

What they're saying:

"Yes, it’s a safety issue having two officers. A lot of the calls that even we would respond to for the public require two officers, and Franklin Pierce is a very large school district," said Deputy Carly Cappetto with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. 

While there won't be any officers on campus, school officials said all the high schools have unarmed security staff, and the sheriff’s office said they will be available when needed.

"We have an obligation to our community, and we’re still going to provide 911 services and safety services and keep our schools safe. Football games, they have to have officers there for safety and security. We’re still going to have that relationship with the Franklin Pierce School District and provide those types of services. It’s just going to look a lot different," said Cappetto. 

The Franklin Pierce School District is planning a town hall next week to address the change with parents. The district does not have an exact date set.

Cappetto tells FOX 13 Seattle the Bethel School District and Puyallup School District still have SROs.

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