2 more officers hired to protect Kennewick schools. 12 more needed for elementaries
There are two new school resource officers on the job in Kennewick schools this new year.
The school district announced this week that the officers would be providing coverage at Horse Heaven Hills Middle School and Desert Hills Middle School.
That means Kennewick School District now has SRO coverage on every middle and high school campus. Across the district, about two-thirds of all its campuses now have some form of security presence at some point during the day.
“The safety of our students and staff continues to be a top priority,” said Kennewick Superintendent Traci Pierce in a statement. “These safety efforts are made possible through community levy support. We are grateful for the support that enables us to prioritize school safety.”
In the coming years, Kennewick plans to install a safety officer at every school. The issue of school safety remains a top concern for public educators and administrators across the nation, especially as the annual number of school shootings and reported violent acts rises.
Just this week, a 17-year-old shooter killed a sixth-grader and wounded five others at a small secondary school in rural Perry, Iowa.
School resource officers, also commonly known as SROs, are fully commissioned police officers. The positions are staffed by officers at the Kennewick Police Department and the salary costs are shared with the district.
Officer Jason Vought is the new SRO at Horse Heaven Middle School. He has worked for Kennewick Police Department since 2017 and was previously assigned to the patrol division, where he was a training officer.
Officer Justin Peterson is the new officer at Desert Hills Middle School. He has worked for the department since 2008 and was previously assigned to the traffic unit.
Kennewick School District is still hiring retired cops to serve as armed safety officers in elementary schools.
Kennewick hopes to hire 12 more safety officers to ensure all its elementary schools are staffed. There are currently five safety officers serving 10 of the district’s 17 elementary schools.
“We have some viable candidates in our hiring pool and anticipate hiring additional SSOs (safety officers) in the near future,” a spokesperson for the district said. “We continue to work toward the goal of having an SSO for each elementary campus.”
Safety officers are different from school resource officers. They’re hired by the district, but must undergo a background check, firearm training and active shooter training with the Kennewick Police Department.
Money for the program comes from $1 million in annual funding tucked within a three-year, $72 million levy measure voters approved by voters in February 2023.
