MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Monongalia County Commission is considering a change in employment conditions for contract security officers working for the school district. If approved, the plan could be put into action for the beginning of next semester.
During a work session with commissioners, Monongalia County Schools Director of Safe Schools and Athletics Adam Henkins said currently armed security officers in schools are contract employees through the Eastern Panhandle Instructional Collaborative (EPIC) with no benefits. There are offers for five open positions that aren’t being accepted by qualified candidates because liability insurance isn’t offered.
Monongalia County Sheriff-elect Todd Forbes acknowledged the importance of offering liability insurance and suggested creating a school safety officer position, and the cost would be reimbursed by the school district.
“We’re not going to get those positions filled. I turned that job down when I retired because I’m not losing my house—they have nothing,” Forbes said. “Yes, it’s a burden to the county, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Henkins said $125,000 has been approved by the Board of Education, and if the plan is approved, they would stop using EPIC and work through the sheriff’s office to get School Safety Officers (SSO). The sheriff’s department has created the job description and will conduct the interview, hiring and training process.
Unlike a school resource officer, an SSO has one purpose: to stop an incident involving deadly force.
“We budget for about $51,000, give or take, in case an officer would like to have insurance or any of these benefits taken out,” Henkins said. “So, we have that money in our budget to help pay for this.”
Chief Deputy Mark Ralston explained the SSOs would receive all the training other armed members of the department get in addition to defensive tactics.
“These guys would be on the range with our court security officers and transport officers getting the training at the same time,” Ralston said. “Day and night fire, so they’re ready for whatever—the same as everybody else.”
Henkins said the officers would be mobile and deployed where and when needed as activity warrants. These officers would not provide security at athletic or extracurricular events under this contract, only school safety patrols.
“Presence at arrival, presence at dismissal,” Henkins said. “Because we’re talking about elementary schools and large gatherings at recess times and security checks throughout the day checking for doors propped open.”
Ralston made it clear the SSO would not be a part of the discipline chain of command in the school building and is not intended to provide on-the-spot corrections. Instead, these are employees dedicated to intervening as quickly as possible in the event of an active shooter or an attack involving deadly force.
“Just because we intend to provide them with de-escalation training doesn’t mean we want them to be involved in every conflict,” Ralston said. “But, if something that could involve deadly force comes in and they have a chance to use that, of course, but it’s a heck of a lot better than what you have now.”