Schools

Lemont Police Eye Federal Grant for District 113A Officer

The village has applied for a federal grant to fund a full-time school resource officer to serve the district's three buildings—primarily Old Quarry Middle School.

The Lemont Police Department is seeking a federal grant to fund a full-time officer in Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District 113A.

The grant, part of the U.S. Department of Justice's COPS Hiring Program, is designed to "advance public safety through community policing by addressing the full-time sworn officer needs of state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies nationwide," according to the program's website.

During a District 113A Board of Education meeting June 19, Lemont Mayor Brian Reaves and Police Chief Kevin Shaughnessy announced that the village submitted a grant application in hopes of funding a full-time school resource officer for the district's three buildings—primarily Old Quarry Middle School.

The officer's most important responsibility is to be visible within the school community, Shaughnessy said. In addition to educating students on issues like drugs and crime, the officer would also be available as a resource for staff members.

Shaughnessy said one of the primary benefits of having an SRO is that the department will have one person assigned to juvenile cases, rather than officers rotating based on their shifts.

"With the large number of kids in schools, we find that having the information relayed from the officers dealing with children is very challenging," Shaughnessy said. "Having one person who's a go-to person would benefit the school, police department and the community."

Nearly half of all public schools have assigned police officers in their buildings, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

A school resource officer has been in place at Lemont High School for the past 15 years. The current officer has held his position for seven years, allowing him to get to know the students and become a positive presence in the building, Shaughnessy said.

"Based on the results we've had at Lemont High School ... I think it's become very successful," Shaughnessy said of the position.

Reaves said that "incidents around the U.S." have prompted a number of emails and phone calls from residents who want full-time police presence at all Lemont schools.

"We all have kids. We all understand the importance of that and wanting to make sure our kids are safe," Reaves said. "Having eyes and ears inside schools in this day and age is very important."

Old Quarry had two bomb threats during the 2012-13 school year that prompted soft lockdowns and investigations by Lemont police. The incident in May received regional media attention and caused a dramatic decrease in attendance.

Shaughnessy said it's easy to understand why police presence at local schools would cause panic among parents. He hopes that a permanent officer would help ease concerns.

"The idea of having police around as an expectation will benefit the overall concern of parents," Shaughnessy said. "They'll know it's part of the day—something they expect to see rather than worrying when they see a squad car outside the building."

The COPS grant provides up to 75 percent of the approved entry-level salaries and fringe benefits of full-time officers for a three-year period, with a 25-percent local cash match requirement and a maximum federal share is $125,000, according to the program's website.

The website also states that the COPS office may grant a waiver of some or all of an applicant's local match requirement if the agency demonstrates "severe financial distress."

District 113A Superintendent Susan Birkenmaier said the school board has already signed a letter in support of the grant application, but has not committed to any further action. 

"We're going to see what happens with the grant first," Birkenmaier said. "If the village gets it, there will be more discussion on how we want to proceed."

The COPS office expects to make award announcements by Sept. 30.


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