Algonquin mulls putting police officers in middle schools for safety

Police officers soon could be stationed at Algonquin middle schools.

The village and Algonquin-based School District 300 want to have an officer assigned to serve as a school liaison officer at Algonquin Middle School and Westfield Community School.

The Village Board will vote on the proposal at its next meeting, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Ganek Municipal Center, 2200 Harnish Drive, Algonquin.

The goal is “to maintain a more personal relationship between law enforcement agents and students in the school, assist in educational programs, protect the students and the school from theft, vandalism, trespassing and deal more effectively with juvenile offenses,” according to village documents.

Area high schools already have police officers.

Chosen officers would have to attend a 40-hour basic school resource officer training class within six months of starting and be trained in gang resistance and cultural diversity, among other things.

Above all, they would counsel school staff on best practices for school safety and assist school staff in case of emergency.

“There are definite benefits as far as safety, but also education and public relations between the police department and students,” Deputy Chief Ryan Markham said. “We definitely have officers who are interested. Once we have an intergovernmental agreement that’s signed and approved by the Village Board, we’ll start the selection process.”

District 300 would reimburse the village for 66 percent of the cost of each officer, according to village documents. Village officials could not immediately be reached to comment on what the officers’ salaries would be.

The move comes amid a national debate regarding school safety.

In February, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, was the site of one of the nation’s deadliest school shootings. Seventeen people were fatally shot and seventeen others were wounded.

Last month, 10 people were killed and 13 were injured during a school shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas.

Closer to home, on May 16 a school resource officer thwarted a school shooting suspect in Dixon.

Markham said the timing of the proposal is a coincidence.

“District 300 has been exploring this possibility for quite a while,” Markham said, adding that he believes it will give parents peace of mind.