Classes for students in the Clinton County School District are now just a week away, and with the new school year will come some subtle and not so subtle changes.
Since children’s safety is always a top priority for the local school district, among the changes that will be visibly seen is that of an SRO (School Resource Officer) in each building that houses students, including the ECC, AES, CCMS, and CCHS.
Over the past few months leading up to the new full school term, the Clinton County School System, led by Superintendent Wayne Ackerman, and Clinton County Sheriff Ricky Marcum and his office, have collaborated to provide a full-time SRO at each school.
The official term of the agreement begins on Thursday, August 1.
The agreement is based pursuant to KRS 158.441, and other applicable law.
All officers are employed under the direction of the sheriff’s office, with the funding for all officers, including salary, equipment and vehicles, the responsibility of the school district.
With the agreement in place, the measure will also fulfill a state legislative mandate that requires all school districts to provide an SRO at each school in their respective districts.
Previously, the district had juggled two School Resource Officers to supply needed law enforcement safety at all of the schools.
All of the officers in the schools have previous law enforcement experience, and all have to complete rigorous training in order to qualify as an SRO.
Parts of the agreement between the Board of Education and Sheriff’s Office read: “The Sheriff’s Office agrees to provide the services of qualified deputies to perform the duties of an SRO…each deputy shall obtain the appropriate training and education to perform the duties…shall be selected by the Sheriff’s Office and presented for review by the Clinton County Schools Superintendent.”
The agreement calls for each deputy to be available for the school year, consisting of 186 days plus, in accordance with the regularly scheduled school calendar. However, Sheriff Marcum has previously informed the board his officers would be available at all school related events year-round, such as basketball games, orientations and other types of events where students are gathered.
The sheriff also noted at a previous school board meeting that the two officers with the most experience would be placed at the middle school and high school.
As part of the SRO duties, they will work in conjunction with the principal and assigned certified teachers to assist in the delivery of instruction on a variety of subject areas, including, but not limited to, deputies and their role in society, laws, juvenile and adult criminal justice systems, law enforcement career opportunities, drug education, gang resistance education and training,  and conflict resolution.
The SRO shall also assist the principal in developing plans and strategies to prevent and/or minimize dangerous situations that may arise in the school setting, and may request additional deputies’ assistance if warranted.
The parties agree the deputy shall not be responsible for enforcement of school disciplinary policies not involving criminal activity, and share information with school administrators to assist in determining whether a school disciplinary policy was violated.
The agreement shall remain in full force and effect for the remainder of the school calendar schedule. Unless terminated by either party, the agreement will automatically renew for an additional one year term Either party may terminate the agreement, with or without cause, by providing 90 days written notice to the other party.
Under terms of the agreement, each deputy shall remain an employee of the sheriff’s office and remain under the  sheriff’s command and supervision.
There is also a confidentiality clause built into the agreement, which states in part: “If during the course of this Contract the School Board discloses to the Sheriff’s Office any data protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, its state law counterpart, and its regulations, or data protected by the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, and Child Nutrition Act of 1966, the County agrees that it and its employees are bound by and will comply with the confidentiality, security, and re-disclosure requirements and restrictions stated in FERPA, NSLA, and CNA.
“The Sheriff’s Office agrees that FERPA-protected information is confidential and includes, but not limited to, the student’s name, the name of the student’s parents or other family members, the address of the student or student’s family, a personal identifier, such as the student’s social security number…or indirect identifiers, such as date of birth, place of birth, and mother’s maiden name.”
“The children’s free and reduced-price meal and free milk eligibility information from the family’s application for eligibility is confidential information and the fine for disclosure is $1,000 or up to one year imprisonment.
“Pursuant to KRS 160.380, the Sheriff’s Office shall require any of its employees providing services under the agreement to submit to a national and state criminal history background check by the Department of Kentucky State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation and have a letter from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services stating the employee has no finding of substantiated child abuse or neglect found through a background check.
“Each party acknowledges that it is an independent contractor of the other party and that nothing in this agreement nor any act of the parties shall be deemed or construed to create any relationship of employer/employee, third party beneficiary, principal and agency or joint venture, and each party further agrees that neither it nor its employees or agents are employees or agents of the other party.
“The Sheriff’s Office shall be responsible for the compensation of the deputy, including without limitation, regular and overtime wages, disability and retirement benefits and workers’ compensation benefits. The Sheriff’s Office shall be paid $11,000 each quarter, beginning July 1, 2024, for each officer provided…up to a maximum of four officers.”
The SRO salaries are included in the sheriff’s office budget, which has been approved by the Clinton County Fiscal Court. The salaries, as stated above, will be reimbursed by the school district.
“As further consideration, in addition to the three police cars currently owned by the school board, the board agrees to furnish another suitable vehicle for use by the deputy (SRO).”
A few other miscellaneous provisions were also included in the agreement.
Clinton County Schools Superintendent Wayne Ackerman has praised Sheriff Marcum for his work in helping the district come up with a plan to provide a School Resource Officer in each school and Marcum has also noted that the superintendent and school district have been very helpful and cooperative in the venture.
The district, over the past few months, have also helped increase security at each school building by adding state-of-the-art door locking systems at each facility.
There is also ongoing training for staff on steps to take during emergency situations, including active shooter protocols.