Sheriff's Office to augment officers dedicated to school security

Paulding County Board of Commissioners voted to approve an Intergovernmental Agreement between the county, the school district, and the Sheriff's Office providing for the utilization of school resource officers in Paulding County schools.
Paulding County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Chad Hunton addressed the BoC last week and told Paulding commissioners that the school system was asking for five additional officers to augment their security staff dedicated to the Paulding area schools.
The five officers would be utilized with several elementary schools in the county. Presently there are officers deployed over the High and Middle schools, according to County Attorney Lani Skipper. “The five additional officers will be clustered throughout the elementary schools. It’s for the 184 days that school is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,” Ms. Skipper said.
Hutton said the school system also asked for a pay supplement to help with retention and recruitment of officers from outside the county.
Post 1 Commissioner Ron Davis expressed his appreciation of the effort on the part of the school system and sheriff’s office to make local schools safer in light of the numerous incidents around the country.
“...As someone with a kid in the public school system, I want to say that I appreciate the sheriff’s office working so diligently with the school board to make our schools’ safety a top priority in the county...” Commissioner Davis commented.
Hunton told commissioners that the agreement also provided a mechanism for overtime for deputies, particularly at the high schools, since their days often don’t end at 4:30 p.m. “...They’re actually very busy. The reports that they’re doing, the charges that they’re having to take; it’s eye-opening, to be honest...” Hunton told the board.
In their voting session later in the day, Paulding commissioners approved the Intergovernmental Agreement by a vote of 5-0.