RUSSELLVILLE Ark.- At the regular meeting held on September 12th, 2023, the RSD Board of Education approved RSD Administration's proposal to add an additional School Resource Officer position to serve at London Elementary School. Upon this approval, all RSD schools will now have an armed officer on campus.
Board President, Jeremy D. Keaster said, “Tonight the RSD Board of Education ensured that every RSD campus where students learn will have dedicated law enforcement support. Providing a safe and secure learning environment is critical to the success of all RSD students. We appreciate the City of Russellville and Pope County for its continued partnership with the district in school safety."
The entire RSD safety team will now be made of 10 armed officers including a Commissioned School Safety Officer housed in the Secondary Learning Center. The 7 Russellville Police Department SROs are currently housed at Crawford Elementary, Dwight Elementary, Oakland Heights Elementary, Sequoyah Elementary, the Russellville Middle Grades Complex, Russellville Junior High School, and Russellville High School. Prior to this approval, there has been one Pope County Officer shared between Center Valley Elementary and London Elementary. Now there will be two full time Pope County officers on the RSD safety team with one housed at each school.
Russellville School District will be paying the full cost of the additional Pope County SRO position.
RSD Superintendent, Dr. Ginni McDonald commented, “School Resources Officers are valuable beyond measure. The District believes the safety of our students and staff comes first, and this a great stride in ensuring a safe learning environment for all students in RSD.”
Also approved at the board meeting was the Memo of Understanding between RPD and RSD, which continues the partnership between RPD and RSD in maintaining the RPD SRO positions and outlines the agreement for both parties to split the cost of the salaries for these positions.
“The safety of students and staff is a community-wide effort. The partnerships RSD has with RPD and the Pope County Sheriff’s Office is a great demonstration of commitment to the safety of our schools.” said Deputy Superintendent, Jeff Holt.
The safety of students and staff is RSD’s top priority. The District is extremely grateful for the partnerships with Russellville Police Department and the Pope County Sheriff’s Office.
#OneRSD