By this fall, all four of the middle schools in unincorporated Coweta County should have police officers stationed on the premises.

The Coweta County Commission voted Tuesday morning to support stationing a resource officer at each of the schools. Currently, the county has one resource officer who shuttles between the county's three middle school.

Sheriff Mike Yeager estimated the cost of funding the three new officers at just over $150,000 a year. The cost includes salaries, benefits and equipment for the officers, along with a vehicle for each.

Adding three new officers would greatly improve the security at the schools, the sheriff added.

“This year we had a problem at East Coweta Middle School and the resource officer was at Madras Middle. That's a long way to drive,” he said.

The sheriff's department was able to send an officer to East Coweta Middle, but Yeager said the real solution is having an officer at each school.

The county currently shares the personnel costs of the one middle school resource officer with the Coweta County Board of Education and Chairman Lawrence Nelms instructed staff to try and reach a similar deal with the school board for funding the new officers.

The commissioners hailed the program as one that is truly necessary.

“Middle school is probably where a child is the most impressionable,” said Commissioner Robert Wood.

Commissioner Vernon “Mutt” Hunter said he had suggested funding the middle school resource officers a few years ago, but the proposal was dropped.

He said he was glad to see it back before the commission and said the idea had his full support.

The commission supported the proposal unanimously and sent it to the school board for its approval. If the funding issues can be worked out, officers will be stationed in August at Arnall Middle, East Coweta Middle, Madras Middle, along with Smokey Road Middle, which opens this fall.

Back to News Home Page | Back to the top of the page