Last week, Congressman Gene Green announced that a $340,000 Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant has been awarded to the Aldine Independent School District to hire local law enforcement officers to work in the schools.
The grant provides funds to pay for salaries and benefits over the next three years. COPS also provides school safety training for the officers and an administrator from the each schools where an officer will be assigned.
These new officers, who will be permanently assigned to a school, will be known as School Resource Officers (SRO). While the officers primary role is to safeguard the students by providing a law enforcement presence on campus, he or she will also have other duties that will be determined by the individual school.
Many SROs will teach crime prevention and substance abuse classes, serve as coaches, and monitor and counsel troubled students.
Our countrys most valuable asset is its children. They are our future and we must protect them the best way we can. With these finds, Aldine ISD will be able to protect our children and will be able to build understanding and respect between law enforcement and students, Green said.
