The Libby School District is asking the public to support a mill levy increase to help pay for a new school resource officer.
Earlier this year, Flathead Electric Cooperative announced that it would reinvest members’ unclaimed capital credit dollars back into the communities it serves by helping fund three school resource officers in Flathead and Lincoln counties. The electric cooperative is paying for 50 percent of the estimated wages and benefits of two officers in Flathead County and has agreed to pay 30 percent of the cost for one officer in Libby. The electric cooperative has agreed to help fund the program for five years.
Capital credit checks are issued to Flathead Electric members every year, but sometimes that money goes unclaimed. Once a check remains unclaimed for five or more years, the cooperative is able to reinvest that money into the community.
Earlier this month, the Libby School Board decided it would go to the public for the rest of money. On May 7, during the school board election, the public will be asked to consider a 5.51 mill increase. The mills would mean an increase of $7.44 in taxes on a home valued at $100,000. Craig Barringer, superintendent of the Libby School District, said the mill levy increase would enable the school district to fund the school resource officer beyond the cooperative’s five-year contribution.
When wages, benefits, training and equipment are all added up, officials estimate it will cost about $70,000 annually to have a school resource officer.
Libby previously had a school resource officer but it was eliminated when funding ran out.
“We wouldn’t be running this levy if we did not think it was a worthwhile project,” Barringer said.
The officer will work in the elementary, middle, high and alternative schools in Libby nine months of the year. The rest of the year, the officer will be on the regular patrol roster, said Libby Police Chief Scott Kessel. The additional officer during the summer means Kessel will save on overtime expenses, he said.
Kessel said the school resource officer could respond to minor offenses, like students smoking, or major threats.
“The school resource officer can be proactive and can work to identify issues before they turn into a crisis,” he said.
Barringer said the school resource officer would be a welcome addition to the district.
“I think the school resource officer won’t be as much of an enforcement tool as they are an educational tool,” Barringer said.