SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Leaders with the Central Valley School District are hoping to add another school resource officer to its schools.
The addition is part of an $11 million levy going up for a vote in a special election.
Two months ago, students at Central Valley High school were evacuated after a shooting threat was posted on a bathroom wall. District leaders said they're hoping something like this won't happen again. They said adding a new officer will better prepare them in case the need arises.
"We had all hands-on deck with our entire district staff and our high school staff," said Central Valley School District Spokesperson Marla Nunberg.
The Central Valley School District currently has two school resource officers. They're stationed at specific schools in the area to help enforce school safety rules, but some situations can call them to other areas within the district. During the Central Valley shooting threat, security demands were heightened.
"If we had another set of hands there directing traffic, directing those parents and keeping them and students and staff safe, that would certainly be of help," Nunberg said.
District leaders are allotting about $100,000 from the proposed $11.8 million levy for a new security resource officer position. This includes the officer's salary and equipment for one school year.
"We are a growing school district. We grow about 300 students a year. We've grown about 2,000 students over the last couple of years, so it's important for us to make sure that we're keeping up with the number of students that we have with our security," Nunberg said.
If approved, to fund the levy, voters would pay one dollar for every thousand dollars of the value of their homes. If you're wondering where the rest of the levy funding would go outside of that $100,000, the district is also hoping to strengthen its special education programs, update classroom technology and add extracurricular activities.
Nunberg said this officer position ranks high on the district's list of priorities. If the levy doesn't pass, she said they'll consider pulling funding from other areas of the district's budget to fund this position.
"We just have to look at the priority of keeping in mind our student's best interest and also the safety and security of our students and staff,” she said.
The levy is going up for a vote during the special election on Feb. 11.