Agreement is between the schools and township
By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
OXFORD TWP. — The Oxford Township Board of Trustees voted 7-0 to approve the School Resource Agreement (SRO), which is billed to Oxford schools.
The agreement, approved by the board in January, establishes and defines “the rights, responsibilities and obligations for placing an Oakland County Sheriff’s Deputy in an Oxford School location,” according to language in the agreement.
The agreement is between the Oakland County government, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, Oxford Township and Oxford Community Schools and is effective Jan. 1, 2025 through Dec. 31, 2027.
“The objective of placing SRO in School is to foster a safe, supportive learning environment for all students and to promote strong partnership and communication between school administration and law enforcement,” according to the agreement language.
Oxford Community Schools has one School Resource Officer at the high school and one at the middle school. Nine months of the year, Oxford schools pays for the SROs, while the remaining three months are paid by the township, Oxford Township Supervisor Jack Curtis said.
According to the Police Services Agreement approved by the township board, the annual cost for both SROs in 2025 will be $374,232. That cost jumps to $408,288 in 2026 and $445,442 in 2027.
The county commission did not take into consideration the safety concerns of specific community such as Oxford, Curtis said, and the additional police presence needed for not only regular patrols but community events as well.
“Our parents don’t like to go to football games and not see a police presence. Our school has been a model for other schools to add Evolv (advanced security screening), cameras, door locks and other safety features,” Curtis said. “It’s impacted our community exponentially with that fear, with which we have to apply law enforcement services.”
Many sheriff’s deputies cover community events after working their regular shift, so that is an additional cost to the township’s police budget.
“They deserve to have overtime if they’ve worked a 12-hour shift and now they have to work a four-hour football game,” Curtis said. “And our school system deserves to be protected.”
Under the agreement, Oxford schools will provide General Liability insurance with a minimum $5 million coverage per occurrence, a secure workspace for the SROs and ensure that “staff fully communicate and cooperate with the SRO” and hold regular meetings with the SRO.
SROs will also be included in all threat assessments and, when applicable, “inquiries about a student’s access to dangerous instrumentalities and firearms, and behavioral assessments involving suicidal ideation, suicidal behavior, and/or belief of harm to self or others.”