All public high schools and middle schools in Loudoun County, Virginia, have school resource officers (SROs), who are employed by the county sheriff’s office. Now a school board member is renewing the call for them at all elementary schools too.
Tiffany Polifko, a school board member representing the Broad Run District, asked her colleagues to consider the possible consequences of not having a sheriff’s office employee in each elementary school, during a school board meeting on Wednesday.
“We have itinerant SROs that travel back and forth from middle and high schools to our elementary schools,” Polifko said.
The distance could make a difference in an unforeseen dangerous situation. “In the event of an emergency, it would be extremely difficult for an SRO in some cases to get to our elementary schools.”
The question of whether SROs should be present in each elementary school is not new.
John Beatty, a school board member from the Catoctin District, said SROs come from the sheriff’s office budget and that there aren’t enough of them to have one at every elementary school. He suggested that the gaps are being filled with more school security officers, who are Loudoun County Public Schools employees.
Polifko suggested that having law enforcement personnel in elementary schools should be a priority, especially for the safety of children.
“When we talk about school safety, this is one of the most simple things that we can do, to provide comfort for parents, for family members, who are saying goodbye to their children every single day, when they get on the school bus, or when they drop them off at school,” said Polifko, adding that SROs in every elementary school would provide peace of mind.
“Knowing there is an extra level or layer of safety at their children’s elementary school — I know I feel that way as a parent.”
Her comments were listed as an “information item” on the meeting agenda, meaning Polifko just brought it up for discussion with her colleagues. It is unclear whether any board members plan to take any next steps.
